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Pr^«**4^  A  A^/%4/k         9l    IVA>vPA>>r*  A  A  P         .^%  A'^^A***  A«*«A 

BR  783  .M63  1882 

Moffat,  James  Clement,  1811 

1890. 
The  church  in  Scotland 


iif/iiireil  K- iiriiiUd    tnr  llw   t^re^litfU-i-ifm   Hoard      nf  I'uhUrniln,,   I- /i    Thio- IteniiluufH  H- SniL.  I'hiUiiUi 


THE 


CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND 


A  HISTORY  OF 


ITS   ANTECEDENTS,   ITS   CONFLICTS 
AND  ITS  ADVOCATES 


FROM   THE   EARLIEST    RECORDED   TIMES  TO   THE 
FIRST  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH 


BY  TH^ 

Rev.  JAMES   C.%OFFAT,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Church  History,  Princeton  Theological  Seminary 


PHILADELPHIA 
PRESBYTERIAN    BOARD   OF   PUBLICATION 

1334   CHESTNUT   STREET 


COPYRIGHT,   1882,    BY 

THE   TRUSTEES   OF   THE 

PRESBYTERIAN    BOARD    OF    PUBLICATION. 


ALL   RIGHTS  RESERVED. 


Westcott  &  Thompon, 
Skreolypers  and  Eleclrotyjiprs,  Philada. 


PREFACE 


History  of  the  early  Irish  and  Scottish 
churches  lay,  until  recently,  in  a  state  of 
chaos.  A  primitive  period  of  intelligent  sim- 
plicity had  left  a  few  honest  records  of  itself. 
But  a  long  succeeding  time  of  greater  preten- 
sion had  covered  those  records  up  with  more 
showy  fable.  Romish  writers  of  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries,  conceiving  of  no  ecclesias- 
tical system  but  their  own,  in  recounting  events 
of  a  preceding  and  different  state  of  things 
misrepresented  them,  perhaps  unintentionally. 
Blunders  of  ignorance  mingled  with  the  bias 
of  prejudice  to  pervert  truth,  and  truthful  state- 
ments of  fact  were  thrust  into  the  background 
by  the  more  exciting  wonders  of  legendary 
lore.  In  many  cases  the  original  narratives, 
after  serving  as  the  basis  of  some  fabulous  life 
of  a  saint,  were  suffered  to  perish.  Those  that 
survived  were  subsequently  perverted  in  the 
application  made  of  them  to  suit  a  fictitious  sys- 
tem of  history,  constructed  by  John  of  Fordun 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  further  developed  by 


4  PREFACE. 

Hector  Boece  in  the  fifteenth,  and  adhered 
to  by  subsequent  historians  until  very  recent 
years. 

The  period  over  which  this  obscurity  Hes 
deepest  is  from  the  first  planting  of  Christianity 
in  the  British  Isles  to  the  eleventh  century ;  the 
churches  upon  which  it  rests  are  the  old  British, 
the  Irish  and  the  Scottish  churches,  and  deepest 
of  all  upon  the  last. 

Recent  historical  research  and  criticism  have 
been  hardly  less  wonderfully  successful  in  this 
field  than  in  that  of  Oriental  archaeology.  Al- 
though Thomas  Jones  made  a  beginning  in  it 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  and 
was  followed  by  Lord  Hailes  and  others  at  long 
intervals,  the  really  effective  work  belongs 
to  men  of  the  present  generation.  It  began 
in  a  careful  comparison  and  discriminative 
treatment  of  all  the  ancient  books  on  the  sub- 
ject, resulting  in  critical  editions  of  the  more 
important  under  the  light  of  that  comparison. 
In  both  lines,  the  prior  credit  is  due  to  certain 
scholars  of  the  Irish  Archaeological  and  Celtic 
Society,  among  whom  conspicuously  appear 
John  O'Donovan,  LL.D.,  James  Kenthorne 
Todd,  D.  D.,  and  William  Reeves,  D.  D.  Con- 
temporaneously, in  Scotland,  Dr.  Forbes,  bishop 
of  Brechin,  Joseph  Robertson  and  William  F. 
Skene  and  others  entered  the  same  field. 

Mr.  Skene's  early  works  were  of  the  utmost 


PREFACE.  5 

value  to  the  whole  enterprise  In  his  editions  of 
the  four  ancient  Books  of  Wales,  of  the  Chron- 
icles of  the  Picts  and  Scots  and  other  early 
memorials  of  Scottish  history,  and  of  Fordun's 
chronicle  of  the  Scottish  nation.  Such  works 
were  accompanied  or  followed  by  carefully- 
written  monographs  on  certain  epochs,  legal 
questions  and  great  historical  personages,  in 
the  list  of  which  Todd's  Saint  Patrick  and 
Reeves's  edition  of  Adamnan's  Life  of  Columba 
stand  eminent  as  masterpieces  of  historical 
criticism. 

A  fourth  effort  was  to  combine  all  the  discov- 
eries of  research  in  a  consecutive  narrative,  with 
every  statement  supported  by  critically-defined 
evidences.  So  should  the  whole  history  be 
lifted  beyond  question  out  of  the  region  of 
legend.  With  this  view,  Dr.  Thomas  IM'Lauch- 
lan  in  1865  published  his  Early  Scottish  Church. 
He  was  perhaps  too  early,  for  the  progress  of 
research  went  on.  John  Hill  Burton,  in  the 
first  volume  of  his  general  history  of  Scotland, 
issued  in  1867,  found  important  alterations  ne- 
cessary for  his  second  edition  of  1872.  And 
now  William  F.  Skene,  in  his  last  work,  which 
he  calls  Celtic  Scotland,  a  Histoiy  of  Ancie7it  Alban, 
covers  the  whole  of  that  bewildering  period  of 
North  Bridsh  existence  with  a  thoroughly  search- 
ing narrative,  which  if  not  satisfactory  on  all  points 
certainly  distances  all  competition  yet  in  the  field. 


O  PREFACE, 

The  last  volume  of  his  three  octavos  appeared 
at  the  close  of  1880. 

It  is  presumed  that  many  people  would  glad- 
ly become  acquainted  with  the  facts  thus  elicited 
who  have  not  leisure  to  follow  the  careful  and 
often-retracing  footsteps  of  criticism.  To  that 
class  of  readers  is  the  present  volume  addressed, 
in  the  hope  that  it  may  contribute  to  a  popular 
understanding  of  the  real  character  of  an  inter- 
esting but  hitherto  greatly  misunderstood  por- 
tion of  the  Christian  Church. 


CONTENTS, 


BOOK   FIRST. 
ANCIENT   PERIOD. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAGB 

The  Religion  of  Heathen  Scotland 17 

CHAPTER  II. 
Introduction  of  the  Gospel 23 

CHAPTER   in. 
Christianity  Established  , 33 

CHAPTER   IV. 
NiNIAN 39 

CHAPTER  V. 
Palladius 42 

CHAPTER   VI. 
Patricius 47 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Patrick's  Teaching 54 

CHAPTER   VIII. 
Church  of  Strathclyde 69 

CHAPTER  IX. 

COLUMBA 74 

7 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   X. 

PAGB 

LiNDISFARNE 88 

CHAPTER   XI. 
Decline  of  Iona 96 

CHAPTER   XH. 
Constructing  the    Kingdom   of   Scotland 108 

CHAPTER   XIH. 
Macbeth  . 119 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Malcolm   Canmore 124 


BOOK  SECOND. 

PERIOD  OF   PAPAL   RULE. 


CHAPTER   I. 
St.  Margaret  the  Queen 137 

CHAPTER   II. 
The  Sons  of  St.  Margaret 144 

CPIAPTER   III. 
Introduction   of  the  Romish   Church  Government  ...    150 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Introduction  of  Romish  Monasticism 160 

CHAPTER   V. 
Papal   Scotland. — National   Consolidation 174 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Scotland  submits  to  be  a  Romish  Province 184 


CONTEXTS.  9 

CHAPTER   VII. 

PAGE 

Extinction  of  the  Scoto-Saxon  Dynasty 193 

CHAPTER   Vni. 

Scotland's  Relations  to  the  Papacy  during  the  War  .    .    206 

CHAPTER   IX. 
Papal  Relations  of  Scotland  under  Restored  Independence.  225 

CHAPTER   X. 
Progress  ok  Education. — Rise  of  the  Scottish  Universities.  237 

CHAPTER   XL 
Closing  Summary 253 


BOOK   THIRD. 
CAUSES  WHICH  LED  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


CHAPTER    I. 
Decline  of  Clerical  Piety 263 

CHAPTER    II. 
Clerical  Morality 272 

CHAPTER   III. 
Truth    and   Error 287 

CHAPTER   IV. 
John  Major 296 

CHAPTER   V. 
Patrick    Hamilton 303 

CHAPTER   VI. 
Cardinal  Bfaton 312 


;0  CONTENTS. 

BOOK  FOURTH. 

THE    REFORMATION    CONFLICT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

George  Wishart  and  Cardinal  Beaton 341 

CHAPTER    II. 
Alliance  with  France  .    .   . 367 

CHAPTER   III. 
The  Lords   of  the  Congregation 383 

'CHAPTER   IV. 
Mary  of  Lorraine  and  the  People 400 

CHAPTER   V. 
John  Knox 420 

CHAPTER   VI. 
The  French    Invasion 429 

CHAPTER   VII. 
The  Victory 439 


MAPS. 


PAGE 

BRITAIN   UNDER   THE   ROMANS  .....  Facing  Title. 


NORTH  BRITAIN  IN  THE  TIME  OF  COLUMBA .  Facing    75 

NORTH  BRITAIN  IN  THiE  TENTH  CENTURY.  .      «        119 

ROMISH  BISHOPRICS "        155 

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Pi         A 


BOOK   FIRST 


ANCIENT  PERIOD. 


The  Church  in  Scotland. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  RELIGION  OF  HEATHEN  SCOTLAND. 

NORTH  BRITAIN,  in  her  most  ancient 
recorded  -times,  was  a  forest,  and  her  re- 
Hglon  a  rehgion  of  the  woods.  Her  people,  Hke 
those  of  South  Britain  and  the  neiorhborinor  Isles, 
were  of  Celtic  stock,  and,  although  called  by 
Roman  writers  Caledonians,  were  comprehend- 
ed under  the  common  classification  of  Britons. 
Like  the  primitive  Hebrews,  Hindoos,  Greeks, 
and  perhaps  all  nations  of  earth's  early  history, 
they  worshiped  in  the  open  air,  the  temple  being 
only  a  space  designated  by  some  religious  cere- 
mony. Among  the  Britons  it  was  a  dark  grove, 
and  never  reached  a  more  formal  structure  than 
that  of  a  grove  enclosing  a  circle  of  stones  sur- 
rounding the  sacred  area,  sometimes  with  an 
avenue  of  approach  bounded  In  like  manner, 
and  within  the  circle  a  broad  flat  stone,  called  the 
''  cromlech,"  supported,  like  a  table,  by  three  or 
more  stones  set  on  edge.  In  some  parts  of 
Scotland  these  structures   have  been  removed 

2  17 


1 8  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

to  make  way  for  the  plough.  Still,  especially  in 
the  Central  Highlands,  a  great  number  of  them 
have  been  allowed  to  remain.^ 

Their  priests,  called  Druids,  probably  from 
two  Celtic  words  signifying  "  spokesmen  for 
God,"  observed  a  Nature-worship,  after  the 
style  of  the  Vedic  In  India  and  pre-HomerIc  in 
Greece,  but  which  also  had  some  features  pe- 
culiar to  itself.  They  rejected  the  worship  of 
Images,  and  taught  the  doctrine  of  one  supreme 
God,  but  not  to  the  exclusion  of  other  divine 
beinors  regarded  with  an  Inferior  deo^ree  of  ven- 
eratlon.  They  believed  in  man's  responsibility 
to  God,  In  the  immortality  of  his  soul,  in  his 
liability  to  sin,  and  in  rewards  and  punishments 
ever  chanorlnor  in  future  states  of  transmlorratlon. 
Of  God  the  chief  emblem  was  the  Sun,  the 
giver  of  light  and  warmth  and  the  supporter  of 
life.  To  him,  and  to  fire  as  a  secondary  sign, 
were  the  most  solemn  ceremonies  of  worship 
paid.  Annual  festivals  were  observed  in  his 
honor.  The  Beltane,  meaning  perhaps  "  the  fire 
of  Bel,"  was  lighted  upon  high  places  on  the  first 
day  of  May  and  on  Midsummer  Eve,  accompa- 
nied by  sacrifice."  A  similar  solemnity  was 
observed  on  the  last  of  October  or  first  of 
November. 

A  mark  of  Oriental  origin  was  also  retained 

1  Gazetteer  of  Scotland,  Introd.,  p.  52. 

2  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  iii.  105,  v.  84,  and  xi.  620. 


THE   RELIGION   OF  HEATHEN  SCOTLAND.       1 9 

In  the  religious  feeling  with  which  the  serpent 
was  reearded.  The  Druids  are  said  to  have 
attached  great  religious  virtue  to  the  serpent's 
^ZZ'  Veneration  was  also  paid  to  certain  trees, 
especially  the  oak — to  mountains,  springs  and 
rivers.  Spiritual  beings  were  conceived  of  as 
animating  matter  and  as  disembodied  In  the  air. 
To  certain  plants  a  mystic  and  sacred  character 
was  ascribed,  as  to  the  mistletoe  when  found 
growing  upon  the  oak,  which  was  believed  to 
be  an  antidote  for  poisons  and  a  cure  for  all 
diseases.  It  was  cut  with  ceremonies  of  mys- 
terious solemnity.  "A  Druid  clothed  in  white 
mounted  the  tree,  and  with  a  knife  of  gold  cut 
the  mistletoe,  which  was  received  by  another 
standing  on  the  ground  in  his  white  robe."  In 
their  worship,  as  In  most  other  ancient  religions, 
the  principal  elements  were  sacrifice  and  prayer. 
But  sacrifice,  as  practiced  by  Druids,  must  have 
been  appalling.  Their  favorite  victims  were  hu- 
man beings.  Criminals,  after  imprisonment  for 
years,  were  offered  as  sacrifices  by  being  im- 
paled and  burned  in  great  fires.  They  also 
*'  immolated  prisoners  taken  in  war."  On  cer- 
tain great  occasions,  making  a  gigantic  image 
of  wickerwork,  they  would  fill  it  with  men  and 
animals,  and  burn  it  with  all  its  contents  in  one 
terrible  holocaust.  Sometimes,  Inflicting  the  fatal 
wounds  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  produce  in- 
stant death,  the  priests  deliberately  took  thei>^ 


20  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

auguries  from  the  contortions  of  the  dying  ag- 
ony of  the  victim. 

Druidical  discipHne  was  severe,  and  was  main- 
tained by  punishments  of  various  degrees.  One 
of  the  most  remarkable  was  what  may  be  called 
excommunication  from  their  sacrificial  observ- 
ances, implying  also  prohibition  from  all  civil 
rights  and  privileges — equal,  in  short,  to  expul- 
sion from  the  nation. 

Druids  were  also  the  learned  class  of  the 
people,  and  used  an  alphabetical  system  of 
writinor  consistinor  of   seventeen   letters — most 

o  o 

likely  the  primitive  Greek  alphabet  derived  from 
Phoenicia.  Their  legal  and  religious  instruc- 
tions and  liturgies,  however,  were  not  read,  but 
recited,  and  were  in  verse.  Only  in  common 
business  was  writing  employed ;  their  sacred 
literature  was  to  be  treasured  in  the  human 
mind,  not  written.  Such  was  the  amount  of  it 
that  a  novitiate  of  twenty  years  was  ordinarily 
spent  in  getting  full  command  of  it  by  memory. 
For,  besides  religion,  it  treated  of  law,  of  med- 
icine and  of  astronomy,  or  rather,  perhaps,  of 
astrology. 

Superstitious  in  their  religion  and  cruel  in  some 
of  its  observances,  the  Druids  were  yet  careful 
practical  correctors  of  morals  and  gave  much 
attention  to  moral  and  natural  philosophy. 
Within  their  own  order  they  were  of  three 
classes,  as  bards  or  poets,  prophets  and  com- 


TIJE   RELIGION   OF  HEATHEN  SCOTLAND.       21 

mon  Druids.  DIodorus  makes  only  two  classes 
by  including  the  prophets  under  the  head  of 
bards.  A  president  of  the  whole  was  elected 
by  suffrage  of  the  rest,  and  invested  with  su- 
preme  authority. 

Druid  women  also  were  of  three  classes,  some 
being  married  and  living  with  their  families  ; 
others  married,  but  devoting  themselves  to  long 
periods  of  religious  seclusion  ;  and  a  third  class 
being  under  vows  of  perpetual  celibacy. 

Caesar,  about  the  middle  of  the  first  century 
before  Christ,  described  this  sacerdotal  order 
of  the  forest  as  being  then  held  in  profound 
reverence  among  the  Celtic  people  of  Britain 
and  of  Central  Gaul,  and  stated  that  the  Druids 
of  Britain  excelled  in  the  learning  upon  which 
their  power  reposed.  Welsh  tradition  affirms 
that  they  brought  it  from  the  far  East,  whence 
they  had  come  with  the  Kumri  (or  Cymri),  that 
branch  of  the  Celtic  race  to  which  the  Welsh 
belong.  Their  religion  was  not  accepted  by 
all  the  nations  of  Gaul,  only  by  those  of  the 
centre  and  west,  who  received  their  instruction 
from  Britain.  In  the  British  Isles  the  most 
authoritative  of  their  seats  of  learnine  was 
Anglesey,  on  the  coast  of  Wales.  From  that 
island  they  were  extirpated  by  Suetonius  Pau- 
linus  in  the  sixty-first  year  of  the  Christian  era. 
Those  who  escaped  the  slaughter  fled,  it  is 
thouoht,     to     the     Isle    of    Man.     and     thence. 

C5 


22  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

following  the  fortunes  of  the  independent  Celts, 
found  refuge  among  the  adherents  of  their  faith 
in  Ireland  and  Scotland. 

The  progress  of  Roman  arms  and  imperial 
edicts  continued  to  diminish  the  territory  of 
Druidical  rule,  and  Christianity,  following  after, 
impaired  its  moral  power.  In  the  next  three 
hundred  years  it  declined  even  under  its  own 
laws  and  among  its  own  free  tribes,  until  it 
became  little  more  than  a  public  superstition. 
Its  later  feebleness  prepared  the  w^ay  for  the 
accession  of  Christianity.  Many  Druidical 
practices  and  beliefs,  however,  continued  long 
afterward  to  retain  their  hold  upon  the  Celtic 
people.  Some  were  converted  into  the  num- 
ber of  Christian  observances,  with  a  real  or 
fancied  Christian  meaning.  From  neither  Irish 
nor  Scottish  Celtic  populations  are  they  en- 
tirely eradicated  to  this  day. 

Caesar,  Bel.  Gall.,\\.  13-18;  Pliny,  A^^^.  Hisf.,x\\.  95;  xxiv,  62; 
XXX.  4;  Gazetteer  of  Scotland,  Introd.,  52;  Pictorial  History  of  Eng- 
land, b.  i.  chap.  ii. ;  G.   Higgins,  Celtic  Druids. 


CHAPTER   II. 

INTRODUCTION  OF  THE   GOSPEL. 

THERE  is  no  record  of  the  means  whereby 
Christianity  was  planted  in  Britain,  for  the 
traditions  and  disguised  guesses  recounted  by 
early  annalists  cannot  command  belief.  Bede^ 
mentions  briefly  a  stor)'  about  a  British  king 
named  Lucius  applying  to  Pope  Eleutherus  to 
be  made  a  Christian,  and  that  he  obtained  his 
pious  request.  Nennius"  and  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle^  mention  it  still  more  briefly,  each  in 
one  short  sentence.  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,* 
after  his  own  fashion,  spins  a  pretty  little 
romance  out  of  it.  Gildas,'^  who  is  older  than 
the  oldest  of  them,  makes  no  allusion  to  the 
stor)',  and,  from  the  way  in  which  he  speaks  of 
Christianity  as  slowly  dawning  upon  Britain, 
most  likely  had  never  heard  of  it,  notwith- 
standing Geoffrey's  complimentary  reference 
to  his  treatment  of  the  subject.  The  story  of 
Donald,  king  of  the  Scots,  making  a  similar 
application  to  Pope  Victor  I.  is  a  baseless  fic- 


^  Hist.  Ecc,  b.  i.  ch.  4.         2  Hist.,  cli.  22.  -^  Under  A.  D.  167. 

^British  Hist.,  b.  iv.    chs.  19,  20;  v.  i.  ^  Hist.,  chs.  8,  9. 

^  Innes,  Civil  and  Eccles.  History  of  Scotland,  p.  14. 


24  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  earliest  reliable  mention  of  the  gospel 
In  Britain  belongs  to  the  beginning  of  the  third 
century,  and  is  by  Tertullian.  The  reference, 
however,  is  merely  incidental,  giving  no  definite 
mformation  as  to  dates  or  agencies,  and  is  con- 
tained within  a  somewhat  boastful  statement  of 
the  extent  to  which  Christianity  had  been  ac- 
cepted. Yet  it  testifies,  beyond  all  doubt,  to 
the  fact  that  the  gospel  had  gained  some  foot- 
hold in  the  island  before  the  date  at  which  it 
was  written.  The  passage  occurs  in  Tertul- 
lian's  answer  to  the  Jews,  where  he  zealously 
defends  the  position  that  Christ  has  come,  and 
is  as  follows  :  ''  As,  for  instance,  by  this  time  the 
various  races  of  the  Gaetulians,  and  manifold 
confines  of  the  Moors,  all  the  limits  of  the 
Spains,  and  the  diverse  nations  of  the  Gauls, 
and  the  haunts  of  the  Britons,  inaccessible  to 
the  Romans,  but  subjugated  to  Christ,  and  of 
the  Sarmatians,  and  Dacians,  and  Germans,  and 
Scythians,  and  of  many  remote  nations,  and  of 
provinces  and  islands,  many  to  us  unknown, 
and  which  we  can  scarce  enumerate.  In  all 
which  places  the  name  of  Christ  who  is  already 
come  reigns,  as  of  Him  before  whom  the  gates 
of  all  cities  have  been  opened."^  In  the  next 
sentence  it  is  added :  "  In  all  these  places  dwell 
the  '  people  '  of  the  name  of  Christ."  A  few 
sentences  farther  on  he  writes:  "Christ's  name 

^  Answer  to  the  Jems,  ch.  vii. 


IXTRODUCTION   OF   THE    GOSPEL.  25 

is  extended  everywhere,  believed  everywhere, 
worshiped  by  all  the  above-enumerated  na- 
tions." 

A  similarly  incidental  remark  of  Origen/ 
written  in  or  soon  after  the  year  246,  implies 
the  same.  "  When  did  Britain,  previous  to  the 
coming  of  Christ,  agree  to  worship  the  one 
God  ?  When  the  Moors  ?  Wlien  the  whole 
world  ?  Now,  however,  through  the  Church, 
all  men  call  upon  the  God  of  Israel." 

By  both  writers  it  is  presumed  to  be  an 
undisputed  fact  that  people  in  Britain  had  at 
least  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  third 
century  adopted  the  religion  of  Christ.  Both 
wrote  of  what  existed  in  their  own  time.  Com- 
munication between  Rome  and  the  provinces 
was  then  free  and  frequent.  Over  excellent 
Roman  roads  and  upon  abundant  Roman  ship- 
ping military  forces  and  supplies  were  passing 
continually  and  news  was  transmitted  without 
impediment. 

No  distinction  existed  then  between  England 
and  Scotland,  the  whole  island  being  called  by 
the  common  name  Britain.  The  people  lived 
in  separate  tribes- and  governments,  and  were 
known  by  different  local  names ;  but  Roman 
dominion  had  created  a  division  of  the  whole 
into  two  orreat  sections  which  has  existed  ever 

o 

since,  though  not  always  in  the  same  propor- 

^  On  Ezckiely  Homily  iv.,  xiv.  59. 


26  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

tions  any  more  than  for  the  same  causes.  In 
the  latter  years  of  the  first  century  the  bound- 
ary-hne  had  been  drawn  between  the  Clyde 
and  Forth.  All  north  of  that  line  remained 
independent  and  British.  South  of  it  were 
conquered  provinces.  Some  of  these  were 
precariously  held,  but  after  the  victories  of 
Agricola  it  could  not  be  said  that  any  British 
nation  south  of  the  Clyde  and  Forth  had  been 
unvisited  by  the  Romans.  The  remark  of  Ter- 
tullian,  therefore,  asserts  that  Christianity  had, 
in  his  time,  been  carried  north  of  that  line. 
Tertullian  is  prone  to  color  highly,  but  there 
is  no  ground  for  charging  him  with  falsehood  ; 
and  when  he  says  that  there  were,  when  he 
wrote,  parts  of  Britain  subdued  to  Christ 
which  were  not  subject  to  Roman  arms,  we 
cannot  take  him  to  mean  less  than  that  Chris- 
tians were  to  be  found  among  the  independent 
Britons  north  of  the  Roman  line. 

By  what  means  Christianity  had  been  carried 
into  Britain  is  nowhere  directly  stated  by  any 
reliable  authority  ;  but  certain'  probabilities  are 
obvious.  More  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
before  these  words  of  Tertullian  were  written 
Roman  armies  had  been  maintained  in  the  land. 
Dispersed  over  it  in  camps,  many  of  which  have 
left  their  names  to  the  towns  that  grew  up 
around  them  and  under  their  protection,  many 
of  the  men  necessarily  came  into  acquaintance 


INTRODUCTION   OF   THE    GOSPEL.  2/ 

with  the  natives.  In  the  second  century  earnest 
Christians  were  soldiers  in  the  Roman  legions. 
Britons  were  also  enlisted  in  the  army,  and 
marched  to  other  provinces  or  to  the  capital. 
Whilst  some  of  those  who  returned  doubtless 
brought  evil  with  them,  others  may  have  learned 
Christ  and  brought  back  with  them  the  message 
of  the  gospel.  From  the  nature  of  the  Christian 
impulse  w^e  may  safely  infer  that  those  who  had 
learned  of  Christ  did  not  remain  silent  am.idst 
a  heathen  people  visibly  suffering  the  penalties 
of  a  cruel  religion.  Much  may  have  been  done 
by  humble  pious  soldiers,  whose  names  were 
never  known  to  history,  because  they  labored 
not  by  public  efforts,  but  quietly,  each  in  con- 
versation with  his  own  little  circle  of  acquaint- 
ances. Nor  is  it  likely  that,  among  the  Christian 
men  who  in  various  departments  of  business 
must  have  visited  and  resided  for  years  in  Brit- 
ain, not  one  devoted  himself  of  more  set  pur- 
pose to  the  work  of  the  missionary.  It  was  a 
period  of  great  activity  in  missionary  enterprise, 
when  speaking  for  Christ  was  not  confined  to 
the  clergy.  The  British  churches  in  after  years 
bore  marks  in  doctrine  and  worship,  as  well  as 
in  the  ministry,  of  having  been  planted  in  an 
age  not  far  from  that  of  the  apostles. 

It  was  the  part  of  Scotland  lying  south  of  the 
Clyde  and  the  Forth  which  participated  in  that 
benefit,  thoueh  not  to    the  exclusion  of   some 


28  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

conversions  farther  north  on  the  eastern  coast. 
Agricola  achieved  his  victories  in  that  part  of 
the  island  between  the  years  8i  and  85  a.  d. 
He  also  constructed  a  line  of  defences  between 
the  Forth  and  the  Clyde/  In  121  the  emperor 
Hadrian  visited  Britain,  and  built  another  wall 
farther  south,  across  the  island  from  Carlisle  to 
Tynemouth.  By  order  of  Antoninus,  in  138 
the  fortified  line  of  Aericola  was  strenofthened 
with  a  connecting  wall ;  and  in  the  beginning 
of  the  third  century  Septimius  Severus  enlarged 
and  strengthened  that  of  Hadrian.  His  suc- 
cessor, Caracalla,  in  the  year  211  surrendered 
all  the  territory  north  of  that  rampart.  Dur- 
ing the  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  years 
from  Agricola  to  Caracalla  the  south  of  Scot- 
land between  the  two  walls  was  subject  to 
Roman  rule. 

After  that  act  of  Caracalla  we  hear  nothlno- 

o 

more  of  Britain  until  the  appearance  of  Ca- 
rausius  in  the  reign  of  Diocletian.  But  that 
successful  naval  leader,  whom  the  senior  em- 
perors— the  Augusti  in  the  Diocletian  system 
— thought  best  to  recognize  as  an  associate 
in  government,^  is  himself  the  only  theme  of 
the  history  which  touches  the  country  in  his 
days.  In  293,  Carausius  was  murdered  by 
Alectus,  and  Alectus,  at  the  end  of  three  years, 

^  Tacitus,  Life  of  Agricola,  ch.  23. 
-  Gibbon,  i.  320-322,  Paris  ed. 


INTRODUCTION   OF   THE    GOSPEL.  29 

was  defeated  by  Constantius  Chlorus,  to  whom 
the  administration  in  Britain  had  been  trans- 
ferred by  the  same  imperial  authorit}^  Con- 
stantius died  at  York  in  306,  and  the  Roman 
army  of  Britain  elected  his  son  Constantine  to 
the  honors  of  Augustus. 

The  persecution  which  began  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  reign  of  Diocletian,  and  continued 
long  in  the  East,  extended  also  to  the  Western 
provinces,  but  for  a  briefer  time/  A  few  Brit- 
ish names  are  recorded  in  the  list  of  victims. 
The  martyrdom  of  St.  Alban  is  referred  to  the 
year  305.  But  the  story  of  it  is  entirely  tradi- 
tional, not  appearing  until  a  hundred  years  after 
the  date  when  the  event  is  said  to  have  occurred. 
It  is  placed  in  the  reign  of  the  mild  and  Chris- 
tian-loving Constantius,  and  so  burdened  with 
miracles  that  a  nimbus  of  doubt  surrounds  it. 

The  interval  from  Caracalla  to  Carausius, 
about  seventy  years,  seems  to  have  been  en- 
tirely free  from  northern  Invasion,  and  that 
part  of  Scotland  once  subject  to  Rome  re- 
mained in  peace.  The  planting  of  Christianity 
there  within  the  preceding  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  years  would  best  account  for  this 
long  uninterrupted  tranquillity. 

Meanwhile,  the  Scots,  a  people  from  Ireland, 
were  securing  settlement,  by  war  or  treaty, 
among  the  southern  Hebrides  and  on  the  ad- 

^  Bede,  Ecc.  Hist.,  i.  7,  8;  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  v.  5. 


30  THE    CrirRCH  LV  SCOTLAND. 

joining  mainland.  The  first  clear  historical 
mention  of  them  is  made  by  Ammianus  Mar- 
cellinus  as  pertaining  to  the  year  360.  But 
that  author  gives  his  reader  to  understand  that 
it  was  not  the  first  time  they  had  joined  the 
Picts  in  ravaging  the  province. 

No  history  records  the  origin  of  the  Scots, 
and  only  probabilities  testify  to  their  ethnic  re- 
lationship. Their  long  residence  in  the  north 
and  east  of  Ireland  would  account  for  their  use 
of  the  Erse  language  without  implying  Celtic 
descent.  In  some  respects  their  character  was 
strikingly  different  from  the  Celtic.  Not  an 
impulsive  people,  they  were  cautious,  patient, 
ready  to  seize  an  advantage  when  it  occurred, 
and  far-seeing  to  provide  for  such  occurrences. 
In  being  brave  in  defending  what  they  had  ac- 
quired they  were  only  like  their  neighbors. 
From  their  subsequent  relations  to  the  Picts, 
it  is  probable  that  they  came  into  the  Hebrides 
as  allies  of  that  people,  or,  with  the  same  motive, 
made  invasions  upon  the  Romanized  Britons. 
Some  of  them  were  perhaps  Christian,  but  in 
mass  they  were  heathen. 

The  name  "  Pict,"  as  applied  to  the  Caledo- 
nians, appears  first  in  the  address  of  Eumenius 
to  the  emperor  Constantius  Chlorus  upon  his 
victory  over  Alectus,  a.  d.  296.  Eumenius  dis- 
tinctly applies  it  to  the  inhabitants  of  North 
Britain  before  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar. 


IXTRODUCTION   OF   THE    GOSPEL.  3 1 

Under  Roman  rule  In  Its  best  days  Britain 
consisted  of  three  sections :  First,  the  com- 
pletely Romanized  provinces  to  the  south  of 
the  wall  of  Hadrian,  divided  into  four  prov- 
inces ;  second,  the  midland  or  debatable  terri- 
tory between  the  wall  of  Hadrian  and  that  of 
Agrlcola ;  and  third,  all  that  lay  north  of  the 
wall  of  Agrlcola,  which  was  held  by  the  inde- 
pendent Caledonians,  with  some  of  the  allied 
Scots.  The  people  of  the  midland  were  re- 
duced to  subjection,  but  the  northern  Caledo- 
nians, though  worsted  In  battle  often,  never 
submitted,  and  frequently  retaliated  invasion 
upon  the  Romans  ;  and  the  midland  was  the 
principal  seat  of  war  between  them. 

In  the  time  of  Tertulllan  the  part  of  Britain 
not  subjugated  by  the  Romans  was  that  of  the 
Caledonians.  And  if  there  were  Christians 
amonof  them  when  he  wrote  his  treatise  against 
the  Jews,  their  conversion  could  not  have  been 
later  than  the  end  of  the  second  century,  per- 
haps earlier.  The  style  of  Christian  teaching 
which  reached  them  in  the  days  of  Polycarp,  of 
Justin  Martyr  or  of  Irenaeus  may  have  been 
very  little  altered  from  that  of  the  apostles. 

While  the  people  of  the  provinces  were  af- 
fected by  religious  changes  in  the  capital. 
Christians  among  the  Caledonians  were  cut 
off"  from  such  influences  by  the  constant  atti- 
tude of  hostility  in  which  their  nation  stood  to 


32  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  Romans,  and  by  the  broad  belt  of  debata- 
ble land  between  them.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  extent  to  which  the  gospel  was  ac- 
cepted among  the  people  between  the  two 
walls — and  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
universal,  certainly,  beyond  their  northern 
bounds — it  was  only  the  dissent  of  a  few 
from  the  established    heathenism. 

Beyond  any  reasonable  doubt,  Christianity 
came  first  into  the  south  of  Scotland,  as  in 
England,  through  Roman  occupation  of  the 
country,  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  busi- 
ness, by  the  capture  of  prisoners  in  war  and 
otherwise.  Nor  can  we  exclude  the  probabil- 
ity of  conversions  through  positive  missionary 
efforts. 


CHAPTER   III. 

CHRISTIANITY  ESTABLISHED. 

THE  army  which  carried  Constantine  in 
victory  to  Rome,  and  first  elevated  the 
mihtary  banner  of  the  cross,  began  its  march 
from  Britain.  How  much  of  a  British  ele- 
ment it  contained  we  cannot  say.  But  it 
indicates  the  convictions  prevailing  in  the 
province  that  Constantius,  who  treated  Chris- 
tians with  favor,  was  greatly  beloved  by  the 
people.  If  Constantine  was  not  then  himself 
a  believer  in  Christ,  he  evinced  his  belief  that 
the  Christians  were  the  stronger  party  by  at- 
taching himself  to  their  side ;  and  the  army 
under  his  command  consisted,  beyond  all 
doubt,  largely  of  Christian  men.  Eight  years 
later,  at  the  Council  of  Aries,  there  were  three 
bishops  from  the  British  provinces  south  of  the 
Tyne — that  is,  south'  of  the  wall  of  Hadrian — 
but  none  from  the  north.  As  long  as  connec- 
tion with  Rome  existed  its  ecclesiastical  progress 
was  communicated  to  the  provinces.  But  Chris- 
tians of  the  farther  north,  cut  off  as  foreign  by  the 
receding  of  Roman  dominion  and  by  frequently 

3  .33 


34  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

recurring  wars,  had  few  opportunities  of  obtain- 
ing relays  of  religious  instruction  from  the  im- 
perial city,  and  had  to  remain  fixed  in  what  was 
originally  taught  them.  Whatever  new  prac- 
tices grew  up  among  them  were  not  dictated 
from  that  quarter. 

Another  hundred  years  of  imperial  rule  was 
that  of  emperors  professing  and  protecting 
Christianity.  Roman  Britain  was  now  fully 
recognized  as  a  Christian  country.^  But  it 
was  obscure.  The  great  interests  of  the  Em- 
pire had  been  attracted  to  the  East  by  the 
planting  of  the  new  capital  on  the  Bosphorus, 
and  ecclesiastical  discussions  centred  there  or 
in  the  schools  of  Antioch  and  Alexandria.  The 
Western  churches  were  less  conspicuous  in  the 
controversies  of  the  fourth  century,  and  the 
British  Isles  were  the  farthest  extremity  of  the 
West.  Moreover,  the  people,  like  the  subject 
races  in  Gaul  and  Spain,  were  poor,  exhausted 
by  the  drain  of  supporting  foreign  rulers  and 
armies  which  annually  carried  their  exactions 
out  of  the  country. 

Little  is  known  of  the  British  churches  for 
the  hundred  years  after  the  reign  of  Constan- 
tine.  Indirectly,  it  appears  that  through  the 
Arian  controversy  they  remained  orthodox. 
'Tn  363,  Athanasius  could  reckon  the  Britons 
among  those  who  were  loyal   to   the   catholic 

1  Bright,  Early  English  Ch.  Hist.,  p.  lo. 


CHRISTIANITY  ESTABLISHED.  35 

faith,"  although  three  of  their  bishops  took 
part  in  the  Council  of  Ariminum,  and  accept- 
ed the  half-Arian  formulary  there  propounded. 
In  that  they  did  not  truly  represent  their  Church 
at  home,  and  "appear  to  have  returned  to  the 
Nicene  position."  Jerome  subsequently  de- 
clared :  "  Britain  worships  the  same  Christ, 
observes  the  same  rule  of  truth,  with  other 
Christian  countries." 

These  remarks  touch  only  the  Roman  prov- 
inces in  Britain.  And  they,  from  the  time  of 
Constantine,  were  governed  by  the  constitu- 
tion which  he  impressed  upon  the  whole  empire. 
They  belonged  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  prefect 
of  Gaul.  "  And  his  deputy,  who  bore  the  title 
of  vicar  of  Britain,  resided  at  York.  Under 
him  were  presidents  of  each  of  the  four  great 
divisions"  or  provinces  "of  the  island." 

From  the  accession  of  Constantine,  in  306, 
for  half  a  century,  the  internal  tranquillity  of 
the  island  was  little  disturbed,  except  occasion- 
ally by  the  exactions  of  an  unprincipled  impe- 
rial officer.  But  in  the  year  360  Picts  united 
with  the  Scots — who  now,  for  the  first  time,^ 
appear  on  the  records  of  Britain — broke  over 
the  wall  of  Severus,  and,  continuing  their  rava- 
ges for  the  next  seven  years,  ultimately  reached 
the  extreme  south  and  threatened  the  city  of 
London.     By  order  of  the  emperor  Valentinian 

-   1  Skene,  i.  97,  137. 


36  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

I.,  the  great  general  Theodoslus  transported  an 
army  from  the  Continent,  with  which  he  de- 
feated the  invaders,  and  drove  them  back  over 
the  wall  of  Severus  and  farther  north,  until  he 
had  re-established  the  rampart  of  Agricola.  By 
the  year  370  the  country  between  the  two  walls 
was  once  more  a  Roman  province,  now  called 
Valentia  or  Valentiniana,  in  compliment  to  the 
emperor.     But  that  was  of  brief  duration. 

After  the  imperial  forces  were  withdrawn 
their  persistent  enemies  from  the  north  again 
recovered  possession  of  the  debatable  land. 
When  the  Roman  army  returned  the  invaders 
were  driven  back.  But  the  wall  of  Severus 
was  subsequently  the  northern  boundary  of 
the  imperial  dominion.  And  as  soon  as  the 
Roman  army  was  out  of  the  way,  even  that 
was  crossed  and  invasion  repeated  to  the 
south.  But  as  Rome  became  involved  in  seri- 
ous conflicts  near  her  own  gates  the  protection 
of  her  distant  territories  had  to  be  surrendered. 
Early  in  the  fifth  century  her  rulers  in  Britain 
collected  all  their  treasures — "  some  they  hid  in 
the  earth,"  "  and  some  they  carried  with  them 
into  Gaul" — and  in  418  abandoned  Britain  for 
ever. 

From  the  time  of  Agricola  they  had  ruled  in 
the  island  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  years, 
but  their  residence  was  south  of  the  rampart  of 
Severus.     The  province  north  of  that  was  never 


CHRISTIANITY  ESTABLISHED.  3/ 

a  safe  possession.  And  yet  it  was  sufficiently 
subjected,  and  for  a  long  enough  time,  to  receive 
substantial  elements  of  civilization,  and  certain- 
ly to  some  extent  the  gospel. 

By  the  imperial  constitution  of  Constantine 
the  Christian  Church  was  woven  into  the  web 
of  general  government  as  the  state  religion.  In 
its  own  sphere,  like  the  civil  and  military  depart- 
ments in  theirs,  it  extended  over  the  whole  field 
of  Roman  dominion.  Corresponding  to  the  civil 
prefects,  the  great  bishops  of  the  capital  cities 
— Rome,  Constantinople,  Antioch  and  Alexan- 
dria, with  Jerusalem — were  elevated  to  the  high- 
est ecclesiastical  authority  next  to  the  emperor. 
But  by  that  constitution  they  could  have  no 
power  over  Christians  beyond  the  bounds  of 
the  Empire.  In  the  general  Council  at  Con- 
stantinople in  381  that  fact  was  recognized,  and 
action  taken  accordingly,  in  a  canon  ordering 
that  churches  planted  among  barbarians  should 
continue  the  practice  they  had  been  taught  by 
their  founders — that  is,  the  missionaries  under 
w^hom  they  were  converted.  That  was  the  po- 
sition of  the  British  Christians  north  of  the 
Tyne  and  Solway  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  Roman  dominion  in  the  island.  And  as  Ro- 
man power  waned  in  the  south,  so  were  they 
the  more  frequently  subjected  to  new  incur- 
sions of  Scots  from  Ireland,  who  formed  set- 
tlements on  the  west  and  joined  the   Picts  in 


38  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

raids  upon  the  Roman  provinces.  Strength 
was  thereby  added  to  the  heathen  element, 
while  the  Christian  was  diminished  and  de- 
pressed. On  the  eastern  side  of  the  island 
the    invasions  of  Saxons    had   already  begun. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

N INI  AN. 

THE  first  positive  facts  of  Scottish  church 
history  now  emerge  into  Hght. 
On  the  extreme  south  of  Galloway,  which 
looks  over  the  Irish  Sea,  the  coast  of  Scotland 
is  divided  into  three  capes  by  the  bays  of  Luce 
and  of  Wigton,  with  the  Solway  firth.  The 
middle  cape  terminates  at  Barrow  Head  in  an 
embankment  of  sea-worn  rocks  about  two  hun- 
dred feet  high.  North-east  and  north-west  from 
that  point  the  rugged  barrier  girds  the  coast  for 
thirty  miles.  The  general  level  of  the  country 
lies  at  a  corresponding  elevation  above  the  sea, 
and,  without  possessing  mountains,  rises  irregu- 
larly into  a  multitude  of  isolated  hills.  Up  the 
eastern  side,  about  three  miles  from  the  blunted 
apex  of  the  cape,  there  is  a  break  and  depres- 
sion in  the  rocky  wall,  forming  a  natural  harbor 
of  small  extent,  made  safe  by  a  little  island  lying 
nearly  across  its  entrance.  On  that  point  of 
land,  and  by  that  little  harbor  of  Whithorn,  in 
or  about  the  year  390,  landed  Ninian,  the  first 
Christian    missionary    to    Scotland    known    by 

name. 

39 


40  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

And  yet  Ninlan  did  not  come  to  an  entirely 
heathen  country.  More  than  a  hundred  years 
before,  Christians  had  been  settled  in  that  prov- 
ince. But  lack  of  religious  instruction  and  the 
devastations  of  heathen  invaders  had  no  doubt 
deranged  their  order,  whatever  it  was,  and  great- 
ly diminished  their  number.  Ninian  was  a  na- 
tive of  Christian  Britain,  probably  of  North 
Wales,  where  the  churches  were  in  a  flourish- 
ing condition,  according  to  the  venerated  prac- 
tices established  by  their  founders.  At  Rome 
he  had  sought  a  more  complete  education  than 
his  own  country  could  afford.  His  residence  in 
that  city  must  have  been  in  the  pontificate  of 
Damasus  I.  or  of  Syricius,  or  in  part  of  both. 
The  constitution  of  Constantine  was  then  in 
full  force,  and  the  hierarchical  system  in  union 
with  the  State,  although  still  new,  had  already 
shaped  itself  into  the  likeness  of  the  civil  gov- 
ernment. On  his  return  through  France,  Nin- 
ian visited  Martin,  bishop  of  Tours,  from  whom 
he  could  not  fail  to  hear  more  and  other  lessons 
on  the  merits  of  sacerdotal  and  monastic  orders. 
He  arrived  at  Whithorn,  there  can  be  little  doubt, 
with  ideas  of  Christianity  formed,  to  some  degree, 
upon  what  was  to  be  found  in  Rome  under  Syri- 
cius. But  nothing  is  credibly  recorded  of  him 
at  variance  with  the  simple  practice  of  earlier 
Christians.  He  built  a  house  for  residence  and 
worship  and  for  the   education  of  youth,  and 


N INI  AN.  41 

preached  the  gospel  there,  as  well  as  elsewhere 
in  the  country  of  the  southern  Picts.^  Many  of 
that  people  had  heard  the  message  of  grace 
before,  but  ere  Ninian's  work  closed  all  of 
those  living  to  the  south  of  the  mountains  of 
Dumbartonshire,  and  perhaps  farther  north  on 
the  eastward,  had,  in  the  language  of  Bede, 
"  forsaken  the  errors  of  idolatry  and  embraced 
the  truth."  ^ 

The  death  of  Ninian  is  assigned  to  the  year 
432.  His  successors  and  the  results  of  his  la- 
bors are  lost  to  the  eye  of  history  for  many 
generations.  His  mission-station  subsequently 
came  into  possession  of  the  Saxons,  and,  like 
Lindisfarne,  was  reconstructed  after  the  Romish 
model.  Bede  mentions  it  again  at  the  end  of 
his  history,  and  says  that  it  had  then,  in  731, 
been  lately  constituted  an  episcopal  see,  and 
had  Pecthelm  for  its  first  bishop.^ 

^  Skene,  ii.  419.     ^  JJistoria  Ecdesiastica,  b.  iii.  3.      "  Ibid.,  b.  v.  23. 


CHAPTER   V. 

PALLADIUS. 

SHORTLY  before  the  date  assigned  to  Nln- 
ian's  death  Palladius  arrived  as  an  emissary 
of  Rome — sent  not  to  convert  heathen,  but  to 
conform  existing  churches  to  the  Romish  model. 
John  of  Fordun  writes  :  "  The  Scots  in  Scotland 
had  long  before  been  believers  in  Christ,  but 
had  as  teachers  of  the  faith  and  administrators 
of  the  sacraments  only  presbyters  and  monks, 
following  the  rite  of  the  primitive  Church."^ 
But  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Scots  was  in  Ireland.  And  by 
Irish  accounts  Palladius  was  sent  by  Pope 
Celestine  to  collect  and  organize  into  church 
order  the  few  scattered  Christians  among  them. 
In  429  the  Pelagian  heresy  was  taking  effect 
upon  some  of  the  clergy  in  South  Britain.  At 
the  instance  of  Palladius,  who  was  then  a  dea- 
con, the  pope  sent  Germanus,  bishop  of  Aux- 
erre,  to  bring  them  back  to  the  Catholic  faith. 
His  attention  being  thus  turned  to  that  quarter 
of  the  world,  in  the  second  year  afterward  he 

1  Todd's  St.  Patrick,  p.  282. 
42 


PALLADIUS.  43 

ordained  Palladius  a  bishop  and  sent  him  to  the 
Scots. 

Prosper  of  Aquitaine,  a  contemporaneous 
writer,  by  whom  these  facts  are  stated,  re- 
cords in  his  chronicle,  under  the  consulship 
of  Bassus  and  Antiochus  (a.  d.  431),  that  Pal- 
ladius was  ordained  by  Pope  Celestine,  and 
sent  to  the  Scojts  believing  in  Christ  to  be 
their  first  bishop.  In  another  work,  referring 
to  these  two  missions  of  Celestine,  he  adds  that 
the  pope  in  ordaining  a  bishop  for  the  Scots, 
while  endeavoring  to  retain  the  Roman  island 
Catholic,  also  made  a  barbarous  one  Christian. 
By  the  "  barbarous  "  island  the  writer  cannot, 
in  that  connection,  mean  any  other  than  Ire- 
land ;  the  Latin  word  barbarus  designated  it  as 
never  having  been  reduced  to  Roman  govern- 
ment. The  Scots  of  Ireland  were  still  heathen. 
All  the  pretended  evidence  to  the  contrary  has 
disappeared  before  the  light  of  sober  criticism. 
There  is  no  testimony  to  indicate  more  than  a 
probability  that  a  few  believers  may  have  been 
found  amid  the  mass  of  a  heathen  public.  To 
unite  these  into  a  Church  was  the  mission  of 
Palladius.  He  was  not  sent  to  convert  heathen, 
but  as  a  bishop  to  Christians.  It  proved,  how- 
ever, upon  his  arrival  in  Ireland,  that  Christians 
were  not  numerous  enough  in  the  country  to 
make  his  enterprise  practicable.  Encountering 
much  hardship,  he  became    disheartened,  and 


44  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

leaving  Ireland  crossed  over  to  Britain.  By  a 
storm  at  sea,  or,  quite  as  likely,  by  intelligent 
choice,  he  was  directed  to  the  eastern  coast 
north  of  the  wall  of  Antonine,  where  there 
was  a  Christian  community  still  without  a 
bishop.  Fordun  in  Kincardineshire  became 
the  centre  of  his  operations.  There  he  re- 
mained, according  to  the  common  account, 
only  a  short  time,  but  all  the  rest  of  his  life, 
for  he  there  died,  as  the  ancient  Book  of 
Armagh  says,  in  the  territory  of  the  Britons,^ 

432. 

The  missionary  enterprise  of  Ninian  began 
when  Roman  arms  were  finally  withdrawn  from 
the  debatable  province  between  the  walls,  but 
not  from  the  country  south  of  it.  The  success 
of  his  long  and  popular  ministry  was  probably 
due  in  part  to  his  being  himself  a  Briton,  in 
sympathy  with  the  national  feelings  of  the 
people  and  their  earlier  religious  instruction, 
where  they  had  received  any,  earlier  than  that 
communicated  by  himself.  Palladius  came  af- 
ter the  Romans  had  entirely  withdrawn  from 
the  whole  island.  His  failure  to  enforce  the 
Romish  ecclesiastical  rule  as  it  then  stood  may 
have  owed  something  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
foreigner.  Romans  never  were  favorites  on 
the  north  side  of  Antonine's  wall.  The  people 
may  have  been  apprehensive  that  In  complying 

'  A  later  writer  for  "  Britons"  puts  "  Picts,"  Todd,  288. 


PALLADIUS.  45 

with  the  wishes  of  the  emissary  from  Rome 
they  might  be  submitting  to  the  Roman  em- 
pire, and  thereby  yield  to  an  artifice  the  inde- 
pendence they  had  so  bravely  defended  with 
arms.  A  persistent  enemy  no  longer  able  to 
use  force  might  be  suspected  of  craft. 

The  efforts  of  Palladius  were  addressed  to 
the  clergy,  whom  he  sought  to  instruct  in  ''  the 
Christian  law."  But  there  is  no  account  of  any 
conversion  to  the  law,  except  that  of  Servanus 
(St.  Serf),  who  must  have  been  already  a  Chris- 
tian. He  is  said  to  have  accepted  consecration 
as  a  bishop  at  the  hands  of  Palladius.^  He  also 
baptized  and  instructed  Ternan,  a  youth  of  no- 
ble birth,  who  afterward  became  a  presbyter, 
and  later  a  bishop.  But  the  story  of  Ternan 
is  entangled  in  impossible  anachronisms.  Both 
Servanus  and  Ternan  were  reputed  miracle- 
workers,  and  most  of  what  passes  for  biogra- 
phy of  them  consists  of  silly  and  incredible 
fables.  In  short,  the  undertaking  of  Palladius 
seems  to  have  been  a  failure  which  later  Rom- 
ish writers  attempted  to  disguise. 

Moreover,  in  the  Book  of  A7'inagh  an  ancient 
annotator  on  the  life  of  St.  Patrick  states  that 
Palladius  was  also  called  Patricius,  and  distin- 
guishes between  them  as  the  first  and  the  sec- 
ond Patrick.  Many  contradictions  found  in  the 
biographies    of    the    apostle    of    Ireland    have 

'  Todd,  St.  Patrick,  p.  302,  Note  I. 


46  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

been  thereby  reasonably  accounted  for,  as 
due  to  importations  from  the  life  of  Palla- 
dius.^ 

After  the  final  withdrawal  of  the  Romans, 
barbarian  invasions  deranging  all  the  coun- 
tries between  Britain  and  Italy,  pirates  in- 
festing the  seas  and  plundering  the  coasts, 
the  British  churches  were  completely  severed 
from  that  of  Rome — a  separation  which  in 
North  Britain  lasted  over  two  hundred  years. 
During  all  that  time  the  churches  in  that  quar- 
ter, conducting  their  inner  affairs  in  their  own 
way,  and  allowing  great  freedom  in  mission  en- 
terprise, contracted  customs  and  established  an 
ecclesiastical  system  of  their  own.  Meanwhile, 
those  upon  the  Continent  were  still  more  active 
in  building  up  a  structure  of  a  different  style — in 
some  things  better,  in  some  worse,  but  in  all  more 
powerful.  When  they  next  met  the  difference 
between  them  was  found  to  be  irreconcilable. 

^  Todd,  289;  also,  305-345. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

PA  TRIG  I  US. 

WHILE  the  missionary  work  of  Ninian  was 
going  on  in  Galloway  and  among  the 
southern  Picts,  incursions  of  heathen  Picts  into 
the  province  continued,  and  heathen  Scots  from 
Ireland  still  harried  the  western  coast.  The 
Scots  at  that  date  seem  to  have  been  in  quest 
not  so  much  of  territory  as  of  plunder  and 
slaves.  In  one  of  their  raids  a  youth  of  six- 
teen years  of  age,  named  Succat  and  also 
Patricius,  was  carried  off  to  Ireland,  and  sold 
or  assigned  to  an  under-chieftain  of  the  O'Neil, 
in  the  county  Antrim,  who  put  him  to  the  task 
of  tending  cattle. 

By  his  own  account,  Patrick  was  a  native  of 
Britain.  And  that  he  meant  the  island  of  Brit- 
ain, and  not  Brittany,  admits  of  no  doubt.  He 
does  not  say  in  what  town  or  other  locality  he 
was  born,  but  the  country  of  which  he  was  a 
native  he  names,  and  also  the  place  where  he 
was  taken  captive  by  Irish  pirates.  The  latter 
was  a  village  called  Bonavem  Taberniae,  near 
which  his  father  had  a  little  farm.^     Bonavem 

^  Confession,  c.  i. 

47 


48  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Taberniae  has  not  been  successfully  identified 
with  any  recent  name.  An  ancient  Irish 
hymn,  attributed  to  Fiacc,  a  younger  contem- 
porary of  his,  states  that  "  Patrick  was  born 
at  Nemthur;"  and  the  scholiast  upon  the 
hymn  explains  Nemthur  as  a  "  city  in  North 
Britain,  namely  Alcluada,"  now  Dumbarton, 
on  the  firth  of  Clyde. ^  The  country  of 
his  nativity  Patrick  mentions  Incidentally,  but 
plainly.  He  calls  it  Britannice,  using  the  plu- 
ral, as  the  Romans  did  In  reference  to  the 
provinces  Into  which  they  had  divided  Brit- 
ain. Thus,  having  recounted  his  escape  from 
captivity  in  Ireland,  he  says  that  he  was  again 
in  Britanniis  with  his  parents,  who  received 
him  as  a  son,  and  besought  him  never  again 
to  leave  them.^  In  another  place,  writing 
of  his  wish  to  go  from  Ireland  to  Britain,  he 
again  uses  the  name  in  the  plural,  in  Britan- 
nias,  and  calls  that  country  his  patria — that  is, 
his  native  land — where  he  would  meet  with 
his  parents  (or  relatives)  ;  and  adds  that  he 
would  be  glad  to  go  even  as  far  as  to  the 
Galllas — that  Is,  to  Gaul,  also  designated  in 
the  plural — where  he  could  visit  brethren  and 
see  the  face  of  the  saints  of  the  Lord — that  Is, 
Christian  brethren.^  But  Armorica,  or  Brittany, 
was  a  part  of  Gaul.      And  Gaul  was  at  some 

1  Todd's  St.  Patrick,  355. 

2  Confession,  Migne,  x.  ;  Patrol.,  vol.  53.  ^  Ibid.,  xix. 


PA  TRICIUS.  49 

distance  farther  away  from  Ireland  than  Pat- 
rick's native  land. 

It  is  a  tradition  consistently  retained  in  Scot- 
land that  the  place  of  Patrick's  birth  was  on  the 
Clyde,  a  few  miles  above  Dumbarton,  on  the 
north-western  frontier  of  the  Roman  province 
of  Valentia,  and  within  what  afterward  became 
the  native  kingdom  of  Strathclyde/  He  was 
the  son  of  a  Christian  family  in  a  Christian 
community,  who  must  have  derived  their  Chris- 
tian instruction  from  a  date  earlier  than  Ninian. 
His  father  was  a  deacon,  by  name  Calpurnius, 
who  had  also  held  the  civil  office  of  decurio,^ 
and  his  grandfather,  Potitift,  had  been  a  pres- 
byter. Their  names,  as  well  as  that  of  Patricius 
himself,  being  Latin,  seem  to  imply  (not  cer- 
tainly that  they  were  of  Roman  birth,  but)  that 
their  connection  had  been  with  the  Roman  oc- 
cupants of  their  neighborhood,  and  that  their 
Christianity  must  have  reached  them  through 
the  same  channel. 

Patrick  writes  of  himself  and  his  young  com- 
panions as  not  faithful  to  the  religious  educa- 
tion they  had  enjoyed. 

The  hardships  of  bondage  revived  and 
intensified  his  early  religious  impressions. 
After  six  years    he  escaped,  and  carried  with 

^  Todd,  353-358.     See  argument  for  Patrick's  Gallic  birth  in  Lanni- 
gan's  Eccles.  Hist,  of  Ireland,  i.  103,  etc. 
'  Epistle  against  Coroticus. 
4 


50  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

him  the  purpose  to  prepare  himself  for  re- 
turning and  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  bar- 
barous people  of  Ireland.  His  process  of 
preparation  is  not  very  clearly  recounted,  but 
it  seems  to  have  occupied  a  number  of  years ; 
after  which,  in  compliance  with  repeated  ad- 
monitions of  the  Lord,  he  entered  upon  the 
execution  of  his  design — at  what  date  is  not 
closely  ascertainable.  That  commonly  given 
is  432,  but  some  authors  argue  for  an  earlier^ 
and  some  for  a  later  year — not  plausibly  later 
than  442.^ 

With  a  few  assistants  Patrick  landed  at  the 
south-west  extremity  of  Lough  Strangford,  in 
the  county  Down.  By  divine  blessing  upon 
the  energy  and  prudence  with  which  he  prose- 
cuted his  mission  the  gospel  was  soon  carried 
over  that  and  the  adjoining  counties.  In  his 
ministry  of  thirty  (some  say  forty  or  more) 
years  there  were  few  places  in  Ireland  where  it 
had  not  been  preached  and  churches  organized. 
Heathenism  was  not  eradicated,  but  Christianity 
was  planted  in  every  tribe.^ 

Christianity,  as  preached  by  Patrick,  observed 
the  simple  rites  once  common  to  all  the  churches, 
Roman  as  well  as  the  rest,  but  longest  retained 
in  the  old,  out-of-the-way  British  churches  with- 

1  Killen  quotes  the  "  Old  Catholic  Church  "  for  the  date  405 :  Eccles. 
Hist,  of  Ireland,  i.  13,  Note  4. 

2  Todd's  St.  Patrick,  391  and  fol.  ^  jbid.,  499. 


PA  TRICIUS.  5  I 

in  which  Patrick  had  received  his  education.  He 
went  to  Ireland,  not  to  propagate  a  sacerdotal  sys- 
tem, but  from  love  to  Christ  and  to  the  souls  of 
men.  Of  a  commission  from  Rome  or  from  any 
human  authority  he  makes  no  mention,  but  says 
that  it  was  Christ  the  Lord  who,  in  a  vision,  com- 
manded him  to  go,  and  the  admonition  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  which  retained  him  in  the  work 
when  once  begun.  He  entered  upon  his  work 
as  a  presbyter.  Concerning  his  episcopal  rank, 
where  and  by  whom  it  was  conferred,  he  does 
not  say.  And  the  pretension  that  he  set  up 
a  primacy  in  Armagh  has  been  shown  to  be 
unfounded.^  Those  whom  he  ordained  to  the 
ministry  he  calls  clerics,  without  saying  of  what 
rank.  Writers  of  succeeding  times  classified 
them  according  to  their  own  ideas,  making  five 
thousand  of  them  presbyters  and  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  bishops.  Of  course,  in  so  small 
a  country  as  Ireland,  and  at  that  time  so  thinly 
populated,  their  number  declares  what  kind  of 
bishops  they  were  not.  Under  the  late  Estab- 
lished Church  thirty-four  dioceses  of  moderate 
size  included  the  whole  island.  The  present 
Catholic  distribution  covers  it  with  twenty-nine. 
And  yet,  in  a  sense  not  intended  by  prelatic 
writers,  Patrick's  clerics  were  no  doubt  many 
of  them  bishops ;  that  Is,  among  other  ministe- 
rial duties  they  discharged  those  of  the  pastor- 

^  Todd,  Introd.;  also  475. 


52  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

ate  and  general  oversight  In  the  tribe  to  which 
their  fraternity  belonged. 

On  the  shores  of  Lough  Strangford  rise  cer- 
tain low  grassy  hills  called  ''  downs."  On  one 
of  these,  at  a  later  time,  was  erected  the  stately 
cathedral  consecrated  to  the  name  of  Patrick. 
About  two  miles  from  that  stood  his  first 
preaching-place,  given  by  Dichu,  his  first  con- 
vert. It  was  an  old  barn  constrained  to  accom- 
modate worshipers,  but  soon  replaced  by  a  more 
ecclesiastical  structure,  though  it  still  bears  the 
name  Sabhal,  shortened  to  Saul,  meaning  in  the 
Celtic  tongue  barn  or  granary.^ 

At  Armagh,  upon  the  "hill  of  willows,"  and 
on  ground  given  by  Daire,  chief  of  that  district, 
he  erected  the  edifice  in  which  he  most  fre- 
quently ministered.^  And,  after  all  his  mani- 
fold labors  for  Ireland  through  her  length  and 
breadth,  upon  those  two  points  where  they  be- 
gan were  their  latest  efforts  expended.  He 
died  at  Saul,  and  was  burled  at  Downpatrick, 
as  is  generally  believed,  near  the  spot  where 
now  stands  the  cathedral  of  Down  ;  in  what 
year  is  not  certain.  The  event  has  been  put 
at  various  dates  from  455  to  495.  Many  argu- 
ments are  urged  in  favor  of  465,  March  17.^ 

Such  a  man  was  of  course,  in  the  records  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  credited  with  prophetic  and 

1  Todd,  407,  409.  2  Ibid.,  472  and  fol. 

3  Lannigan,  i.  355-363;   Killen,  i.  13. 


PATKICIUS.  53 

miracle-working  powers.  Everything  done  by 
him  is  done  in  some  preternatural  w^ay ;  and 
such  a  mist  of  absurd  fiction  is  thrown  around 
him  that  his  very  existence  has  been  called  in 
question.  Careful  criticism  has  winnowed  out 
some  grains  of  truth,  but  in  the  mass  his  medi- 
aeval biographies  cannot  be  accepted  as  history. 
Fortunately,  Patrick  in  his  old  age  felt  con- 
strained to  defend  himself  "  from  the  charge  of 
presumption  in  having  undertaken  such  a  work 
as  the  conversion  of  the  Irish,  rude  and  un- 
learned as  he  was."  In  that  Confession,  as  it  is 
called,  the  motives  which  actuated  him  to  his 
missionary  enterprise,  and  some  points  of  his 
life  concerned  with  it,  are  recounted  in  a  plain, 
modest  and  indubitable  way.  An  open  letter 
also  written  by  him  in  reference  to  the  barbar- 
ous conduct  of  Coroticus,  a  Welsh  chieftain, 
contains  a  few  more  statements  which  may  be 
safely  trusted.  His  honors  of  saintship  were 
conferred  at  a  long  subsequent  time,  when  pa- 
palism,  in  effort  for  universal  dominion,  deemed 
it  expedient  to  adopt  and  claim  credit  for  all 
earlier  Christian  achievements,  disgruisincr  them 
with  its  own  colors  and  decorations. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PATRICK'S  TEACHING. 

THE  external  form  of  Christianity,  as  carried 
by  Patrick  to  Ireland,  differed  from  that 
which  prevailed  on  the  Continent  at  the  same 
date.  Confusion  was  subsequently  introduced 
into  the  history  by  attempts  of  later  Romish 
writers  to  cover  up  that  difference,  or  make  It 
appear  as  little  as  possible.  Because  If  West- 
ern Christianity  came  from  Rome,  as  they  all 
believed  it  did,  they  thought  there  could  be  no 
difference.  Patrick  was  not  a  heretic  nor  a 
schismatic.  And  yet  from  his  own  writings,  as 
well  as-  from  some  events  in  the  state  of  the 
later  Scottish  Church,  which  the  chroniclers 
could  not  omit,  it  Is  plain  that  there  were 
differences.  That  fact,  however,  did  not 
amount  to  the  argument  which  they  appre- 
hended against  the  Roman  origin  of  the  Brit- 
ish churches.  For  the  Christianity  of  Rome 
In  the  fifth  century  differed  on  several  points 
from  itself  in  the  second.  That  the  practices 
in  the  Church  of  Strathclyde  were  not,  in  the 
sixth  century,  the  same  in  all  respects  as  those 
of"  Rome,  nor  of   the    national    churches    else- 

54 


PATRICK'S   TEACHING.  55 

where  on  the  Continent,  is  not  now  denied ; 
nor  that  the  churches  in  Ireland  within  the 
same  period  agreed  with  that  of  Strathclyde 
on  points   whereon  they  differed   from  others. 

Why  did  they  so  agree  together,  and  so 
differ  from  Rome  ? 

The  answer  is,  That  elsewhere  there  had 
been  progress  in  definition  and  statement  of 
doctrine,  In  construction  of  formal  orthodoxy, 
in  definition  of  heresies,  in  multiplication  of 
rites  in  worship  and  sacramental  ceremonies, 
in  clerical  practices.  In  distinctions  of  clerical 
ranks,  and  in  the  development  of  a  great 
sacerdotal  system  In  union  with  the  Roman 
imperial  government.  In  Britain  the  country 
lying  between  the  walls  had  never  been  Ro- 
manized, as  were  the  provinces  to  the  south 
of  it.  Its  communication  with  the  Christian 
Continent  never  was  as  free.  A  great  part  of 
the  time,  and  repeatedly,  it  was  the  battle-ground 
between  Romanized  and  independent  Britons. 
It  was  cut  off  from  such  intercourse  the  more 
completely  as  the  Roman  force  declined,  for  so 
the  more  darlnor  was  the  heathen  force  which 
overran  It.  According  to  the  best  that  histori- 
cal criticism  can  ascertain,  Patrick  was  a  native 
of  the  extreme  north-western  frontier  of  that 
debatable  land.  It  was  therefore  to  be  ex- 
pected that  the  Irish  and  Strathclyde  churches 
should  agree  with  each  other,  as  well  as  that 


56  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

they  should  differ,  In  some  respects,  from  those 
on  the  Continent. 

In  the  Interval  of  time  between  the  second 
Christian  century  and  the  fifth  changes  had 
taken  place  In  the  great  Church  of  the  Ro- 
man empire.  Heresies  had  arisen,  new  terms 
had  been  adopted  In  statement  of  the  com- 
mon faith,  and  controversy  had  given  to  certain 
phrases  a  conventional  meaning  which  they  had 
not  before.  But  there  Is  no  evidence  that  the 
Easter  controversy,  the  rebaptism  controversy, 
the  Arlan  or  Seml-Arlan  or  Apolllnarlan  con- 
troversy, had  ever  reached  the  secluded  com- 
munity In  which  Patrick  learned  Christ. 

To  such  a  degree  was  Patrick's  work  dis- 
connected from  the  ecclesiastical  system  of  the 
Continent  that  his  very  name  seems  to  have 
been  unknown  there.  For  several  genera- 
tions after  his  death  scarcely  an  allusion  Is 
made  to  him  by  men  of  the  Roman  Church. 
"  Not  a  single  writer  prior  to  the  eighth  cen- 
tury mentions  It."  ^  But  for  his  undoubtedly 
genuine  autobiography,  the  reality  of  his  life 
might  have  been  totally  lost  In  the  depths  of 
mythical  cloud  with  which  mediaeval  writers 
have  actually  obscured  It.  To  the  same  doc- 
ument also  are  we  Indebted  for  any  positive 
information  about  the  type  of  doctrine  he 
taught. 

^  Skene,  ii.  i6. 


PATRICK'S   TEACHING.  57 

At  the  beginning  of  his  narrative  the  aged 
missionary  gives  a  brief  statement  of  his 
theology,  upon  which  he  says  that  he  cannot 
be  silent: 

**For  after  we  have  been  corrected  and  brought 
to  know  God,  we  should  exalt  and  confess  his 
wonderful  works  before  every  nation  which  Is  un- 
der the  whole  heaven — that  there  Is  no  other  God, 
nor  ever  was,  nor  shall  hereafter  be,  beside  God 
the  Father,  unbegotten,  without  beginning,  from 
whom  is  all  beginning,  upholding  all  things,  as 
we  have  said ;  and  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  whom 
we  acknowledge  to  have  been  always  with  the 
Father,  In  an  Ineffable  manner  begotten  before 
all  beginning ;  and  by  him  were  made  things 
visible  and  invisible  ;  and  being  made  man,  and 
having  overcome  death,  he  was  received  into 
heaven  with  the  Father.  And  he  (the  Father) 
hath  given  unto  him  all  power,  above  every 
name,  of  thinors  In  heaven  and  thinors  In  earth, 
and  things  under  the  earth,  that  every  tongue 
should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  Is  Lord  and 
God,  whom  we  believe,  and  look  for  his  coming, 
who  is  soon  to  be  the  Judge  of  the  living  and 
the  dead,  who  will  render  unto  every  man  ac- 
cording to  his  works  ;  and  has  shed  in  us  abun- 
dandy  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  pledge 
of  immortality  ;  who  makes  the  believing  and 
obedient  to  become  the  sons  of  God  the  Fa- 
ther and  joint  heirs  with  Christ,  whom  we  con- 


58  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

fess  and  adore,  one  God  in  Trinity  of  the  holy 
name.  For  he  himself  has  said,  by  the  prophet, 
'  Call  upon  me  in  the  day  of  thy  tribulation,  and 
I  will  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt  magnify  me.' 
And  again  he  says,  *It  is  honorable  to  reveal 
and  to  confess  the  works  of  God.'  "  ^ 

This  seems  to  be  an  original  confession  of 
faith.  Except  in  containing  the  same  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  God  and  Christ,  it  bears  no 
marks  of  relation  to  the  Nicene  or  Constantino- 
politan  Creeds  drawn  up  by  the  doctors  of  the 
Empire,  nor  to  the  so-called  Apostles'  Creed. 
It  differs  from  them  in  laying  stress  on  the 
"  ineffably  begotten  before  all  beginning,"  but 
none  on  the  begotten  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  not 
even  mentioning  the  virgin  mother,  while  all 
the  three  Catholic  creeds  press  the  latter  Into 
conspicuous  place.  It  also  differs  from  the 
Nicene  and  Constantinopolitan  Creeds  in  say- 
ing nothing  about  Christ  being  of  the  same  sub- 
stance or  of  similar  substance  with  the  Father, 
and  lays  no  emphasis  on  the  distinction  between 
begotten  and  made.  In  short,  it  evinces  no 
knowledge  of  either  Arian  or  Semi-Arian  con- 
troversy. Nor  is  there  anything  in  it  which 
implies  acquaintance  with  the  Pelagian  belief. 
It  has  more  resemblance  to  the  summaries  of 
doctrine  to  be  found  in  the  early  Fathers,  espe- 
cially to  that  of  Irensus  ;   and  yet  it  is  not  a 

^  Confess.,  c.  2. 


PATRICK'S    TEACHING.  59 

copy  of  any  of  them.  This  Is  remarkable  for 
such  a  production  in  the  latter  half  of  the  fifth 
century,  and  could  not  have  occurred  had  its 
author  been  educated  in  France  or  Italy,  where 
among  ecclesiastics  those  controversies  had  long 
enlisted  the  fiercest  partisan  zeal  and  determined 
certain  forms  of  expression  on  both  sides,  heret- 
ical and  orthodox. 

Of  the  imperial  system  of  church  govern- 
ment sanctioned  under  Constantine,  with  its 
authoritatively  graduated  ranks  of  clergy,  Pat- 
rick and  his  helpers  seem  to  have  had  little 
knowledge.  In  his  statement  his  helpers  were 
all  clerics,  without  any  distinction  of  rank.  He 
is  himself,  in  his  old  age,  a  bishop — how  consti- 
tuted or  by  whom  he  does  not  say,  but  believes 
that  he  had  received  from  God  what  he  was. 

Bishop  is  a  word  which  has  belonged  to  Chris- 
tian history  from  the  days  of  the  apostles.  Nor 
can  there  be  any  completely  organized  Church 
without  a  bishop.  The  word  is  a  scriptural 
word,  but  it  has  gone  through  a  variety  of 
meanings  in  the  progress  of  church  history. 

I.  In  the  first  instance,  when  an  apostle  con- 
stituted a  church  in  any  city  he  ordained  pres- 
byters in  it,  and  immediately  it  was  competent 
to  manage  its  own  affairs,  because  the  presby- 
ters, in  their  pastoral  duties,  were  the  bishops 
of  that  church,  and  were  sometimes  so  called.^ 

'  Acts  XX.  17--18  ;   Philip,  ii.  I  ;   I  Tim.  iii.  I  ;  Tit.  i.  7. 


6o  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

2.  It  became  necessary  in  the  meetings  of 
those  presbyter-bishops  that  some  one  should 
preside*.  They  might  have  taken  that  service 
turn  about  in  routine,  but  it  was  quite  as  natural 
for  them  to  elect  one  of  their  number  as  perma- 
nent president.  And  that  method  was  soon 
adopted  in  all  the  churches.  Pastoral  super- 
vision came  thereby  more  immediately  into  his 
hands,  and  of  the  two  titles  the  one  significant 
of  pastoral  duty  as  overseer  was  naturally  ap- 
propriated to  him,  while  his  colleagues  retained 
the  title  presbyter.^ 

3.  Further  on,  the  presiding  brother  among 
the  presbyters  of  a  congregation  came  to  be 
recognized  as  occupying  a  higher  rank  than 
the  rest.  And  thus  the  principle  was  estab- 
lished of  having  only  one  bishop  in  one  church. 

4.  In  a  large  city,  when  the  church  increased 
to  such  numbers  that  they  could  not  all  meet  in 
any  one  of  the  houses  at  their  disposal,  separate 
congregations  were  set  off,  and  a  presbyter 
appointed  to  minister  in  each.  But  from  the 
beginning  it  was  a  principle  of  Christian  broth- 
erhood that  all  the  Christians  in  one  city  should 
constitute  but  one  church.  Accordingly,  all  the 
congregations  in  one  city,  though  worshiping 
separately,  were  only  branches  of  one  church, 
and  one  bishop  presided  over  them  all.  Thus 
two  principles  were  firmly  established — namely, 

^  Jerome,  Ep.,  82  :   Com.  on  Titus,  I,  7. 


PATRICK'S    TEACHING.  6 1 

one  bishop  In  one  church,  and  one  church  In 
one  city.  From  these  seeds  the  growth  of 
prelacy  was  Inevitable. 

5.  A  fifth  degree  was  occasioned  by  the  mis- 
sion churches  planted  outside  of  the  cities.  In  any 
one  of  those  the  missionary  sent  out  to  minister 
in  it,  when  constituted  permanent,  became  its 
bishop,  being  pastor  In  the  church  of  a  sepa- 
rate town  or  village.  At  the  same  time  he  was 
held  to  be  subordinate  to  the  bishop  of  the 
church  from  which  his  mission  proceeded. 
And  in  the  neighborhood  of  some  great 
cities  such  mission  churches  were  many.  The 
bishop  of  the  great  city  became  thereby  a 
bishop  over  bishops — a  metropolitan.  Other 
country  churches,  for  the  most  part,  in  the 
course  of  time  fell  in  with  the  method  pre- 
vailing at  the  great  centres  of  population. 

6.  Thus,  before  the  time  of  Constantine  the 
Church  had  erown  into  a  structure  of  o-overn- 
ment  whereby  she  easily  conformed  to  his  great 
system  for  the  civil  power,  and  readily  fur- 
nished a  still  higher  rank  of  bishops  to  preside 
each  over  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  an  impe- 
rial exarchate,  thereby  providing  a  double  rank 
of  archbishops  presiding  respectively  over  dio- 
ceses and  subordinate  provinces  of  the  Empire. 

7.  The  four  greatest  divisions  of  the  Roman 
dominion,  called  prefectures,  gave  greater  dig- 
nity to  the  bishops  of  the  capital  cities — Rome, 


62  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Constantinople,  Antloch,  and,  as  there  was  no 
capital  for  the  most  western  prefecture,  Alex- 
andria took  her  place  among  the  high  ranks  of 
the  Church.  Accordingly,  the  bishops  of  those 
capital  cities,  with  the  title  patriarch,  stood  at 
the  head  of  ecclesiastics.  In  course  of  time 
Jerusalem  was  revived  and  added  to  the  patri- 
archates. 

8.  Meanwhile,  a  higher  honor  among  the 
patriarchs  was  conceded  to  Rome  and  Con- 
stantinople— a    metropolitan    patriarchate. 

From  that  summit  of  ecclesiastical  authority 
the  ramifications  of  clerical  office  adapted  them- 
selves to  all  the  territorial  divisions  and  subdi- 
visions of  the  Roman  dominion,  down  to  the 
smallest  parochia  (parish)  ;  and  the  power  of 
the  trunk  permeated  the  branches  to  their 
farthest  extremities. 

So  far  had  the  hierarchical  development 
proceeded  on  the  Continent  when  the  work 
of  Patrick  in  Ireland  began.  It  was  a  devel- 
opment ruled  in  its  outgoing  by  the  territorial 
distribution  of  the  Empire.  But  the  Empire  had 
never  extended  to  Ireland  or  to  Britain  north 
of  the  wall  of  Antonine.  An  entirely  different 
structure  of  government  was  needed  for  the 
missions  of  Patrick,  as  being  addressed  to  a 
different  state  of  social  and  civil  order. 

The  population  of  Ireland  consisted  of  an 
aggregate  of  great  families,  each  family,  in  all 


PATRICK'S    TEACHING.  63 

its  branches,  recognizing  the  relationship  as  a 
bond  of  organic  union.  All  the  rights  of  the 
father  in  the  family  were  held  to  be  inherited 
by  his  heir  as  head  of  the  clan.  His  authority 
was  absolute.  Clansmen  had  only  to  depend 
and  to  obey.  There  were  rules  to  be  observed, 
but  constitutional  privileges  of  the  governed 
there  were  none.  The  tribes  possessed  lands, 
but  the  tribal,  and  not  the  territorial,  distribu- 
tion was  the  basis  of  their  organization.  ''Clan- 
ship," says  Dr.  Todd,^  ''  is  the  key  to  Irish  his- 
tory." 

Patrick  proceeded  with  prudence  and  adapted 
his  church  to  the  constitution  of  society.  He 
always  addressed  himself  first  to  the  chieftain. 
To  have  attempted  the  conversion  of  the  clans- 
men without  consent  of  their  prince  would  have 
been  to  excite  rebellion  not  likely  to  succeed. 
But  when  the  chief  accepted  baptism,  the  ex- 
ample went  far  with  his  dependants.  Patrick 
framed  the  structure  of  his  churches  to  corre- 
spond with  that  of  the  clans.  His  clerics  he 
associated  In  groups,  each  group  for  a  clan, 
the  members  of  it  living  together  in  common 
— a  little  Christian  tribe  within  the  tribe,  set- 
ting an  example  of  Christian  society,  and  dis- 
tributing among  themselves  the  religious  duties 
for  the  tribe,  usually  by  the  order  and  under 
protection  of  the  chlef.^ 

1  St.  Patrick,  226,  227.  2  Ibid.,  503. 


64  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  Imperial  style  of  prelacy  was  perfectly  in 
accord  with  the  style  of  society  and  government 
under  the  Roman  empire ;  and  its  growth  was 
natural  from  a  few  determining  principles.  But 
from  the  structure  of  society  in  Ireland  it  was 
utterly  alien.  There,  every  clan  was  in  itself 
a  separate  power.  No  plan  of  union  compre- 
hended them  all.  Each  clan  was  liable  to  be  at 
war  with  some  of  its  neighbors.  Headship  of 
all  was  to  be  brought  about,  if  ever,  by  force  of 
arms.  Internally,  each  clan  respected  only  the 
authority  of  its  chief.  How,  in  that  condition 
of  affairs,  was  the  island  to  be  parceled  out  ter- 
ritorially on  one  common  principle  into  peaceful 
dioceses  and  parishes  ?  The  churches  had  to  be 
distributed  after  the  fashion  of  the  tribes.  A 
group  of  bishops  with  their  respective  churches 
in  one  neighborhood  was  quite  as  accordant  with 
the  monastic  residence  of  the  clergy  as  under 
the  Empire  the  rule  of  one  church  in  one  city 
and  one  bishop  in  one  church. 

When,  long  afterward  (five  or  six  hundred 
years),  Ireland  came  under  papal  rule,  writers 
whose  ideas  had  been  formed  upon  the  papal 
system  thought  that  in  Irish  church  history 
they  must  find  all  the  prelatic  ranks  from  the 
beginning,  and,  not  finding  them,  called  what 
they  did  find  by  their  names.  So,  Ireland  is 
forthwith  supplied  with  diocesans  and  a  sub- 
ordinate parochial  priesthood,  and  Patrick  him- 


PATRICK'S    TEACHING.  65 

self  is  constituted  a  great  metropolitan,  and 
Armagh  the  seat  of  a  primacy  over  all. 

Neither  was  there  in  the  minds  of  those 
writers  any  conception  of  ecclesiastical  growth. 
Everything  must  be  from  the  first  all  that  they 
knew  it  to  be  in  their  own  time.  Patrick,  they 
say,  ordained  three  hundred  and  fifty  bishops 
or  more,  five  thousand  presbyters,  and  consti- 
tuted seven  hundred  churches.  That  may  be 
true  or  not.  He  says  nothing  of  the  kind.  It 
was  not  true  as  they  meant  it,  measuring  out, 
according  to  their  own  notions,  the  proportion 
of  bishops  and  presbyters  for  seven  hundred 
separate  churches.^ 

Out  of  Patrick's  missionary  stations,  partak- 
ing of  the  monastic  character,  grew  up,  after 
his  death,  a  system  of  monasteries  connected 
with  the  tribes  and  modified  by  an  influence 
proceeding  from  Wales.  Founded  by  some 
person  of  eminent  piety,  and  endowed  by 
him  or  by  some  Christian  family,  each  mon- 
astery fitted  itself  to  the  regulations  of  the 
tribe  to  which  it  belonged.  Its  abbot  ^  was 
not  elected  by  its  members,  but  followed  his 
predecessors  in  right  of  the  family  of  the  foun- 
der. If  that  failed  to  furnish  a  suitable  person, 
the  succession  passed  over  to  the  family  which 
had  furnished  the  endowment.  If  the  family  of 
the  founder  was  also  that  of  the  donor,  the  in- 

1  Todd,  28.  2  Yxom  the  Semitic  abba,  abbas,  father. 

5 


66  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

heritance  of  election  remained  with  its  members, 
who  were  under  obhgation  to  provide  a  person 
duly  qualified  for  the  duties.  The  abbot  might 
be  either  a  clergyman  or  a  layman,  but  in  either 
case  he  was  the  highest  governmental  authority 
in  the  church  of  his  tribe.  The  episcopate  was 
merely  a  rank  among  the  collegiate  brethren, 
and  not  only  void  of  jurisdiction,  but  necessa- 
rily subject  to  the  abbacy  in  as  far  as  respected 
the  collegiate  rules.  A  bishop's  duties  of  con- 
firmation, administration  of  the  Eucharist  with 
rites  of  the  greatest  pomp,  and  ordination  to 
clerical  office,  the  abbot  did  not  usurp,  but  he 
held  the  discharge  of  them  under  his  direc- 
tion.^ 

This  was  equally  true  of  the  rule  of  an  abbess 
over  her  nunnery.  Brigid  of  Kildare  employed 
a  bishop,  whom  she  held  as  subject  to  her  laws, 
in  his  place,  as  were  her  nuns  in  theirs. 

The  members  of  the  association  were  called 
brethren,  and  the  number  under  one  abbot  (fa- 
ther), generally  amounting  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  or  more,  were  the  family.  They  constitu- 
ted a  regular  Christian  community  in  each  tribe, 
to  which  the  members  of  the  tribe  w^ere  drawn  by 
the  attractions  of  kindred  and  greater  security. 

No  one  of  these  fraternities  ruled  over  the 
rest.  They  stood  to  one  another  in  the  relation 
of  a   federal    union,  and   no  central   head  was 

»  Tod. Is  St.  Pafnck,  5,  etc. 


PATRICK'S    TEACHING.  6/ 

acknowledged  save  Christ.  The  monastery 
had  certain  claims  upon  its  tribes  for  support, 
while  the  tribe  had  claims  upon  it  for  clerical 
duties  and  for  instruction  by  recital  of  the  word 
of  God  to  all  who  would  listen  to  it. 

Every  such  clerical  fraternity  was  also  a  sem- 
inary of  learning,  and  besides  its  family  main- 
tained a  body  of  youth  in  the  course  of  instruc- 
tion. It  was  still  a  missionary  system,  designed 
to  set  an  example  of  Christian  life  in  a  state  of 
self-denial  and  the  practice  of  Christian  virtues 
and  affections,  and  to  furnish  protection  for  per- 
secuted converts.  Its  accommodations  were 
humble,  consisting  mostly  of  huts  made  of 
wattles  and  earth  or  boards ;  but  it  was  "  de- 
fended by  a  wall  of  veneration,  and  belief 
prevailed  that  the  peace  of  the  religious  soci- 
ety could  not  be  violated  with  impunity." 

Care  of  scriptural  instruction  was  an  inherit- 
ance from  early  Christian  times  faithfully  retained 
by  the  great  missionary  to  Ireland,  and  by  the 
clergy  who  succeeded  him.  As  stated  by  Co- 
lumbanus,  a  monk  of  the  second  period,  their 
Church  insisted  upon  knowledge  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  accepted  as  a  standard  of  doctrine 
nothing  beyond  the  teaching  of  the  evangelists 
and  apostles.  Concerning  a  daring  controversy 
of  his  time,  he  said  that,  ''  excepting  those  state- 
ments which  either  the  law  or  the  prophets  or 
the  Gospels  or  the  apostles  have  made  known 


68  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

to  US,  solemn  silence  ought  to  be  observed  with 
respect  to  the  Trinity.  For  it  is  God's  testi- 
mony alone  that  is  to  be  credited  concerning 
God — that  is,  concerning  himself." 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

CHURCH   OF  STRATHCLYDE. 

WHILE  Patrick  was  pursuing  his  mission  in 
Ireland  new  settlements  of  heathen  were 
forming  in  South  Britain.  Saxons  already  had 
their  colonies  planted  along  the  whole  eastern 
coast  from  Kent  to  Northumberland,  extending 
successively  to  the  districts  on  the  Tweed  and 
Forth,  while  Norsemen  had  begun  their  inva- 
sions on  the  farther  north-east.  What  is  now 
Scotland  was  greatly  distracted  by  invasion. 
Scots  from  Ireland  on  the  west,  and  Saxons 
on  the  east,  expelled  or  subjugated  the  earlier 
inhabitants.  The  Romanized  and  Christian 
Britons  of  the  south-eastern  coast  were  driv- 
en to  the  central  mountains  and  their  congre- 
gations broken  up.  The  people  north  of  the 
great  firths  were  still  chiefly  heathen.  Gallo- 
way, embracing  what  is  now  Kirkcudbrightshire, 
Wigtonshire  and  the  southern  part  of  Ayr- 
shire, was  inhabited  by  an  ancient  British 
race.  Christian  perhaps  to  some  extent  in 
Roman  times,  together  with  a  recent  Pictish 
immigration,  converted  under  the  preaching 
of    Ninian.       A    laree    colonv    of    Scots    from 


yo  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Ireland  had  settled  In  the  West  Highlands 
and  made  themselves  masters  of  what  is 
now  Argyllshire. 

Thus,  by  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century 
North  Britain  was  divided  among  six  or  sev- 
en different  groups  of  population — heathen 
Norsemen  on  the  north-east ;  heathen  Saxons 
on  the  south-east ;  Picts,  partly  Christian,  on 
the  intermediate  east  coast ;  Britons,  partly 
Christian  and  partly  heathen,  in  the  south 
centre  ;  Christian  Britons  and  Picts  in  Gallo- 
way ;  Picts  with  Scots,  partly  Christian,  in  the 
south-west  Highlands  and  Hebrides;  and  Picts, 
purely  heathen,  in  the  Highlands  of  the  north- 
west and  north  centre. 

The  history  of  Scotland  as  a  nation  had  not 
yet  begun.  It  was  to  take  shape  and  consist- 
ency from  the  slow  process  of  unions,  subju- 
gations, annexations  and  amalgamations  of 
different  races,  and  their  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity. At  that  date  the  principal  seat  of 
Christian  profession  was  the  south  centre, 
from  the  firth  of  Clyde  to  the  Solway,  and 
Galloway.  Of  the  former  the  inhabitants 
were  chiefly  of  Kymric  descent,  and  recog- 
nized their  religious  as  well  as  ethnic  rela- 
tions  with  the  people  of  North-west  England 
and  of  Wales.  But  they  were  weakened  by 
division  under  several  petty  kings,  and  the 
Church    within    their    bounds    suffered    oTeatl\' 


CHURCH  OF  STRATHCLYDE.  yt 

from  neglect  and  long-continued  warfare  with 
the  heathen  on  both  north  and  east,  while 
their  clergy  were  disorganized.  It  was  the 
period  of  intensest  conflict  between  Britons 
and  Saxons — the  time  of  King  Arthur's  le- 
gendary wars,  described  by  Geoffrey  of  Mon- 
mouth as  the  most  successful  resistance  ever 
made  by  Christian  Britons  to  the  aggressions 
of  their  heathen  foes.^  Arthur's  twelve  great 
successful  battles  seem  to  have  been  real,  and 
fought  in  defence  of  the  Kymric  south  of  Scot- 
land against  Picts  on  the  north  and  Saxons  on 
the  east.^  These  contests  gave  to  the  hills  and 
valleys  of  the  Clyde  and  Tweed — countries 
subsequently  fertile  in  themes  of  romantic 
fiction  and  poetry — a  foundation  for  heroic 
history.  The  death  of  Arthur  is  referred  to 
A.  D.  537,  soon  after  which  period  a  revival  of 
Christianity  began  among  the  people  whom  he 
had  defended.^ 

The  birth  of  Kentigern,  an  event  no  less 
deeply  covered  with  the  mirage  of  mediaeval 
fable,'*  must  be  referred  to  the  same  period. 
Kentigern,  also  called  Mungo  (the  Beloved), 
received  his  education  in  connection  with  that 
ancient  Church  north  of  the  Tay  once  visited 
by  Palladius,  although    his  ordination    by   Ser- 

'  Geoffrey's  British  Hist.^  b.  ix.,  x. 

2  Veitch,  History  and  Poetry  nf  the  Scottish  Border^  chap.  ii. 

"  Ibid.,  p.  68.  *  M'Lauchlan,  107-115. 


72  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

vanus,  who  had  been  ordained  by  Palladius,  ni- 
volves  an  interval  of  time  which  is  incredible. 
Called  by  the  king  and  clergy  of  Lanark,  with 
the  Christian  people,  then  reduced  to  a  small 
number,  he  consented  to  be  their  bishop.  A 
bishop  was  invited  from  Ireland  to  ordain 
him/  Thus  he  entered  upon  his  pastorate  five 
or  six  years  after  the  death  of  King  Arthur. 
With  long-sustained  zeal  he  carried  forward  the 
revival  of  Christianity  within  the  little  kingdom, 
in  opposition  to  encroaching  idolatry.  A  num- 
ber of  youths,  accepting  their  education  from 
Kentigern,  followed  his  example  and  aided  in 
the  execution  of  his  plans.  They  did  not  es- 
cape persecution  from  enemies  at  home.  A 
strong  party  in  favor  of  the  old  Druidical 
worship  divided  the  nation,^  and  during  the 
rule  of  a  king  of  their  persuasion,  Kentigern 
had  to  take  refuge  in  Wales.  There  he  re- 
mained similarly  employed  until  after  the  ac- 
cession of  a  Christian  king  in  Lanark,  Rhy- 
derch  Hael,  and  Rhyderch's  victory  over  the 
princes,  leaders  of  the  heathen  party,  in  the 
batde  of  Ardderyd  in  the  year  573.  By  that 
victory  the  Kymric  tribes^  from  the  firth  of 
Clyde  to  Derwentwater  were  united  in  one 
kingdom  under  the  name  of  Strathclyde,  with 

'  Skene,  ii.  184. 

'^  Veitch,  lOl  ;   Todd's  .SV.  Pafruk,  H,  etc. ;   M'Lauchlan,  115-I18. 

•'' Veitch,  loi  ;   M'Laiichlau,  12^-125. 


CHURCH   OF  STRATHCLYDE.  73 

its  fortress-capital  Dumbriton,  now  Dumbarton, 
in  the  religious  interest  of  Christianity. 

Kentiofern  was  welcomed  back  to  his  former 
charge.  At  first  he  took  up  his  residence  at 
Hoddam,  in  Dumfriesshire,  no  doubt  to  en- 
counter approaching  heathenism  on  that  fron- 
tier of  Saxon  occupancy.  From  thence  he 
went  into  Galloway,  and,  as  Jocelin  says, 
cleansed  from  the  foulness  of  idolatry  and 
contagion  of  heresy  that  home  of  the  Picts. 
Afterward  returning  to  Glasgow,  he  continued 
to  pursue  his  evangelical  enterprise  without  in- 
terruption until  his  death.  The  principal  dates 
in  his  life — his  birth  in  518,  his  ordination  in 
543  and  his  death  in  603 — are  only  approxi- 
mate.^ His  extant  biographies — the  fragment 
and  the  life  by  Jocelin — were  not  written  until 
the  twelfth  century,  more  than  five  hundred 
years  after  his  time,  and  are  full  of  absurd 
miracles  in  the  conventional  mediaeval  style. 
But,  setting  these  aside,  there  is  no  good  rea- 
son to  doubt  that  Mungo  was  the  main  support 
of  the  Christian  cause  in  the  south  of  Scotland 
at  a  time  when  it  was  declining  there  under  the 
fierce  assaults  of  heathen  enemies.  His  long- 
sustained  reputation  for  knowledge  and  piety 
procured  him  influence  in  missionary  excur- 
sions beyond  the  bounds  of   Stratlich'de. 

'  Skene,  ii.  198. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

COLUMBA. 

ITT^HILE  heathenism  in  North  Britain  was 
VV  still  resisting  the  work  of  Kentigern,  the 
princes  of  Ireland  were  defenders  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  some  of  them  its  ministers.  It 
was  one  of  the  latter  who  proved  the  messen- 
ger of  an  effectual  gospel  to  the  unconverted 
Picts,  whom  no  missionary's  voice  had  yet  ad- 
dressed. 

Columba,  of  royal  descent  in  the  family  of 
O'Niel,  was  born  in  December,  521,  at  Gartan, 
in  the  county  of  Donegal.^  ''As  he  grew  up  he 
exhibited  various  quahties,  as  well  of  body  as 
of  mind,  fitted  to  excite  the  admiration  of  his 
countrymen.  He  was  of  lofty  stature;  he  had 
a  clear  and  commandino-  voice  and  a  noble 
bearing.  He  could  express  himself  with  ease 
and  gracefulness  ;  he  had  a  quick  perception 
and  a  sound  judgment.  He  was  an  ardent 
student,  and  had  great  powers  of  application. 
His  temper  was  hot,  and  he  sometimes  gave 
way  to  gusts  of  passion  ;  but  with  all  he  was 
just  and  generous,    and    his    indignation    was 

^  Reeves's  Adanninn. 
74 


■:far,l\-i'd  ti-  IjruiU-il    lurllu     I'ri'xlni  IrrKiri    ISn.iid      iil    l':il'h 


u,  Liniiliiir/H  A    S<,n  .  J'lJtiiriri 


COLUMBA.  75 

never  so  much  excited  as  by  the  perversity 
of  the  wicked."  His  honorable  birth  and 
"  personal  endowments  soon  placed  him  in  the 
position  of  a  leader,  and  more  than  once  he 
was  able  to  control  the  political  movements  of 
the  Irish  princes."  ^  Though  he  early  resolved 
to  attach  himself  to  the  service  of  the  Church, 
his  youth  was  greatly  divided  between  it  and 
the  political  and  military  conflicts  of  parties. 

As  Columba  approached  middle  age  he  broke 
away  from  all  secular  interests  to  devote  himself 
solely  to  the  work  of  the  gospel.'^  From  the  lof- 
ty headlands  of  his  native  county,  far  over  the 
intervening  ocean,  could  be  seen  the  grayish- 
blue  mountains  of  the  southern  Hebrides — Islay, 
Jura,  Colonsay  and  others.  On  some  of  those 
Columba  knew  that  there  were  colonists  from 

Ireland,    converted    before    leavino-    home,  but 

<_>  ' 

now  without  religious  instructors.  Others 
were  descended  from  people  who  had  left 
Ireland  before  Christianity  reached  it.  And 
far  out  of  sight  beyond,  under  the  cold  dark 
blue  sky  of  the  north,  on  islands  and  main- 
land, lay  tribe  after  tribe  of  Picts  in  a  state 
of  utter  heathenism.  Columba  resolved  to  set 
apart  the  remainder  of  his  days  to  preaching 
the  gospel  in  those  spiritually  destitute  regions. 
At  the  age  of  forty-two  he  found  himself  in  con- 
dition to  carry  his  design  into  effect.     As  a  pres- 

'  K'llen,  Ecrlei  HisL  of  Irdand,  i.  30,  31.  ^  M'Lauchlar.,  150-151. 


'J^  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

byter  of  the  Irish  Church  (a  higher  clerical 
rank  he  never  bore),  and  accompanied  by- 
twelve  assistants,  in  the  year  563  he  set  sail  in 
his  currach,  and  after  landing  at  several  inter- 
mediate points  fixed  his  residence  upon  lona. 

That  little  island,  about  three  miles  and  a  half 
in  length  and  one  and  a  half  in  width,^  tying  off 
the  south-western  extremity  of  Mull,  from  which 
it  is  separated  by  a  sound  one  mile  and  a  half 
wide,  and  on  every  other  side  lashed  by  the 
free  sweep  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  was  for  Co- 
lumba  conveniently  situated  within  the  terri- 
tories acquired  by  his  countrymen,  where  they 
already  had  a  church,  and  yet  not  far  from  the 
borders  of  the  Picts,  whose  conversion  he  had  in 
view.^  At  that  point  also  he  was  protected  by 
the  chief  of  a  Scottish  colony,  who  gave  him  the 
island  and  was  prepared  to  welcome  his  Chris- 
tian instructions.  There,  he  and  his  assistants 
erecting  for  themselves  such  houses  as  they 
needed  of  the  humble  materials  of  wattles  and 
earth,  Columba  set  up  one  of  those  mission- 
ary schools  which  formed  a  feature  of  the  old 
Irish  and  Scottish  churches.  Monastic  insti- 
tutions they  were  in  a  certain  sense — namely, 
in  that  their  inmates  lived  together  in  common, 
with  a  degree  of  ascetic  self-denial  and  in  obe- 
dience to  their  own  superior;  but  not  monastic 
in  the  sense  in  which  that  term  is  most  likely  to 

1  Skene,  ii.  89.  2  n^ia.,  ii.  34,  S6-88. 


COLUMBA.  77 

be  taken  at  the  present  day,  inasmuch  as  they 
were  under  neither  episcopal  nor  papal  au- 
thority, and  acknowledged  no  human  superior 
outside  of  their  own  body,  and  in  that  the  con- 
stituent members  of  their  fraternity  were  clergy- 
men, having  a  view  to  missionary  and  pastoral 
work.  Their  separation  of  themselves  from  the 
world  was  not  to  secure  merely  their  own  sal- 
vation and  power  with  God,  but  to  present  be- 
fore the  heathen  an  example  of  Christian  life  as 
pure  as  possible,  separate  from  the  ways  of 
sinful  men,  and  to  prepare  missionaries  and 
pastors,  provide  a  central  home  for  them,  and 
oversee  them  and  the  affairs  of  the  churches 
which  they  planted. 

It  would  misrepresent  their  character  to  call 
them  monasteries  without  discrimination.  Their 
monks  were  in  reality  all  the  clergy  their  Church 
had.  Vows  of  obedience  were  exacted,  but  only 
to  the  president  of  their  own  college.  Under 
his  direction  they  were  held,  the  lay  members  to 
their  work  for  the  community,  and  the  clerical  in 
readiness  for  missionary  or  pastoral  duty  as  he 
and  the  fraternity  saw  fit ;  or  as  students  they 
pursued  the  course  of  preparation  for  the  min- 
istry. They  always  made  the  monastic  college 
their  home.  The  plan,  in  short,  was  that  of  a 
well-regulated  missionary  station,  and  church 
extension  consisted  in  multiplying  such  mission- 
ary stations. 


78  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

As  they  were  planted  among  a  people  living 
in  clans,  they  addressed  themselves  to  the  clan 
system.  Instead  of  dividing  the  country  into 
sections  for  distribution  of  Christian  work,  the 
missionaries  accepted  the  natural  grouping  of 
the  people.  The  clan  was  one  great  family, 
including  its  branch  families,  and  for  the  most 
part  inhabiting  adjoining  districts.  The  mission- 
ary college  was  a  little  family  of  clergymen  with 
their  students  adapting  itself  to  the  clan  organ- 
ization to  carry  religious  instruction  through  all 
its  ramifications.  Accordingly,  there  was  no  call 
for  a  territorial  distribution  of  parishes  and  dio- 
ceses or  presbyteries.  The  missionaries  used 
the  order  they  found.  And  even  when  carried 
beyond  the  clans  their  method  still  had  regard  to 
the  people  rather  than  to  the  divisions  of  the  land. 

Roman  monasticism,  with  which  that  of  Ire- 
land and  that  of  lona  are  liable  to  be  confound- 
ed, had  only  begun  its  career  under  the  hand  of 
Benedict.  But  even  the  older  style  of  monas- 
tery had  always  been  subject  to  the  bishop  of 
the  diocese  in  which  it  was  situated,  or  to  the 
council,  or  to  the  bishop  of  Rome.  Without 
the  approval  of  one  or  the  other  it  had  no  right 
to  exist.  Latterly,  all  that  control  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  pope.^  In  the  Scottish  Church 
there  were  no  territorial  bishops,  no  provincial, 
diocesan  or  general  councils,  and  the  pope  was 

^  Gieseler,  i,  510. 


COLUMBA.  79 

nothing  more  than  a  venerated  name.  The 
clerical  fraternities  were  themselves  the  heads 
of  ecclesiastical  authority. 

Such  an  institution  was  now  set  up  in  lona, 
from  which  to  direct  the  operations  of  mission- 
ary enterprise,  and  in  which  to  prepare  men  to 
be  pastors  for  the  future  congregations.  It  was 
after  the  example  of  the  Irish,  but  differed  from 
them  in  that  it  was  not  planted  for  the  benefit 
of  a  kindred  tribe,  and  in  that  it  was  supported 
by  the  industry  of  its  own  members.  It  had  no 
place  for  a  territorial  episcopacy  or  a  presby- 
terian  republic.  It  was  itself  the  Church. 
Its  brethren  were  the  clergy,  associated  with 
a  presbyter  as  their  principal.  In  another 
aspect  it  was  a  missionary  station  cultivated 
into  a  theological  college,  on  a  manual-labor 
plan.  Columba  was  not  sent  by  the  Church 
of  Ireland,  though  he,  and  lona  after  him,  al- 
ways cherished  filial  relations  to  it.  For  the 
mission  upoji  which  he  entered  he  had  accept- 
ed his  orders  from  the  Lord,  whose  gospel  he 
preached.  And  he  acknowledged  no  standard 
of  doctrine  save  that  of  the  evangelists  and 
apostles.  The  foundation  of  his  instructions 
and  of  his  preaching,  his  great  instrument  in 
the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  was  the  word  of 
God.  He  and  his  assistants  did  their  Lord's 
work  under  their  own  responsibility,  as  they 
understood  their  Lord's  commission. 


8o  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

In  his  house  on  lona,  Columba  ruled  and 
instructed  his  clergy  and  assigned  them  to 
their  places  of  duty — with  authority,  but  not 
without  consultation.  As  he  was  not  a  bish- 
op, but  a  presbyter,  so  all  succeeding  Scottish 
abbots  of  lona  were  presbyters,  and  yet  in  the 
government  of  the  Church  took  precedence  of 
bishops.  Bishops,  in  that  connection,  were  rec- 
ognized as  of  a  superior  rank  in  the  ministry,  but 
assigned  to  an  insignificant  position  in  the  work 
of  the  Church.  One  of  them  could  ordain  a  bishop 
or  administer  the  Eucharist  without  an  assistant, 
and  his  superior  rank  was  held  in  honor.  But 
presbyters  could  ordain  presbyters,  and  a  pres- 
byter could  also  administer  the  Eucharist  with- 
out an  assistant  if  he  chose.^  The  bishops  were 
under  the  monastic  rule,  and  as  such  were,  in 
respect  of  jurisdiction,  subject  to  the  presbyter- 
abbot  as  the  head  of  the  monastery.^  In  short, 
bishops  were  only  occasional  visitors  in  lona ; 
the  system  was  one  which  had  no  place  for  them, 
and,  although  admitting  their  rank,  never  knew 
properly  what  to  do  with  them.^  As  little  had 
it  any  place  for  a  church  session,  a  presbytery 
or  a  synodal  government.  Its  ruling  power  was 
the  missionary  college. 

The  government  of  the  early  Scottish  and 
Pictish  churches  was  neither  papal,  episcopal 
nor  presbyterian,  as  those  systems  now  stand, 

1  Skene,  ii.  94.  ^  M'Lauchlan,  169,  170. 


COLUMBA.  8 1 

but  monastic,  or  rather  collegiate,  in  which  the- 
ological schools  were  the  rulers.  They  educa- 
ted the  clergy,  assigned  them  to  their  missionary 
or  pastoral  places,  and  were  the  authorities  con- 
sulted when  difficulties  arose.  In  their  college 
the  clergy  had  their  home,  their  place  for  study 
and  their  books.  Out  from  it  they  went  in  their 
respective  directions  with  instruction  and  pas- 
toral service  for  the  clan  in  which  they  minis- 
tered, and  thither  they  returned  for  rest  and 
further  preparation.  All  the  religious  houses 
of  the  Scottish  Church  were  constituted  after 
the  example  of  lona,  to  which  they  all  volun- 
tarily conceded  a  primacy  of  honor. 

Ascetics  were  to  be  found,  who  withdrew  to 
desert  places,  lonely  islets  in  the  ocean,  and 
lived  in  utter  solitude ;  but  in  so  doing  they 
were  outside  of  the  church  system,  and  not  to 
be  counted  as  belonorino-  to  a  monastic  order. 
They  were  mere  voluntary  anchorets.^ 

Columba  beoran  his  evano;elical  work  with 
preaching  to  the  men  of  his  near  neighborhood, 
and  for  a  revival  of  religion  among  the  long- 
destitute  Christians  of  the  Scottish  colony — 
lonor  destitute  of  the  means  of  erace. 

At  the  end  of  about  two  years  from  his  leav- 
ing Ireland,  and  when  his  college,  upon  which 
all  his  other  plans  depended,  had  been  put  in 
working  condition,  the  zealous  missionary  found 

^  M'Lauchlan,  176-180. 


82  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  way  prepared  for  his  enterprise  of  address- 
ing the  gospel  to  the  northern  Picts.  His  first 
step  was  to  visit  the  court  of  their  king  to  obtain 
his  consent.  The  journey  was  long,  for  King 
Brude  was  then  residing  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Inverness,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  away, 
and  much  of  that  distance  had  to  be  traversed 
on  foot.^  At  first,  the  king  was  not  disposed  to 
listen  to  his  application,  and  forbade  him  admis- 
sion. The  miracles  whereby  Columba  overcame 
that  opposition  are  the  conspicuous  events  in  Ad- 
amnan's  narrative.^  They  seem  to  have  been  un- 
called for;  the  royal  resistance  was  neither  cruel 
nor  obstinate,  and  the  Pictish  people  were,  for 
the  most  part,  ready  to  give  a  hearing  to  the 
gospel.^ 

The  Pictish  king  Brude,  when  converted,  be- 
came zealous  in  the  cause,  and  gave  its  mission- 
ary his  hearty  support.  Columba  had  already 
the  friendship  of  the  Scottish  colony  in  his  neigh- 
borhood, and  used  his  influence  to  secure  them 
in  possession  of  their  territories,  and  obtain  for 
them  recognition  of  their  independence  from  the 
head-king  of  Ireland.  With  these  advantages 
he  extended  the  operations  of  his  Church  as  far 
as  those  friendly  princes  ruled,  by  planting  new 
religious  houses  in  both  kingdoms  of  Scots  and 

^  M'Lauchlan,  155,  156, 
■     2  Adamnan's  Life  of  St.  Colu?>iba,  Reeves's  ed.,  lib.  ii.,  c.  35,  36, 
3  M'Lauchlan,  157-159. 


COLUMBA.  83 

Picts,  in  the  islands  as  well  as  on  the  mainland, 
and  in  Ireland.  By  the  end  of  twelve  years  his 
enterprise  was  almost  complete,  as  far  as  pro- 
fession was  concerned.  The  western  and  cen- 
tral Highlands  were  brought  under  Christian 
instruction,  and  the  whole  nation  of  the  Picts 
was  formally  added  to  the  Church.^ 

Subsequently,  evangelical  work  was  carried 
more  in  detail  through  the  heart  of  the  main- 
land to  the  east,  and  relations  were  established 
with  Kentigern  and  the  Church  of  Strathclyde. 
When  prosecuting  his  work  in  that  direction 
down  the  river  Tay,  perhaps  in  the  year  584, 
Columba  took  occasion  to  visit  Kentigern  in 
his  residence  at  Glasgow.  He  was  received 
with  warm  affection.  The  two  devoted  Chris- 
tian workers  spent  several  days  together,  "con- 
versinof  on  the  thing^s  of  God  and  what  con- 
cerned  the  salvation  of  souls."  ^ 

The  area  covered  by  the  missions  of  Columba 
and  his  companions,  added  to  that  of  Strathclyde 
and  Galloway,  where  the  inheritance  of  the  older 
British  churches  had  just  been  revived,  consti- 
tuted all  that  is  now  Scotland,  except  the  Saxon 
and  Scandinavian  settlements  on  the  eastern 
coast. 

Columba  died  on  lona  in  597.^  His  burial- 
place  continued  long  afterward  to  be  the  most 

^  Skene,  ii.  127.  2  jbid.,  ii.  194-196. 

^  Reeves's  Adamnan,  lib.  iii.,  c.  23. 


84  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

venerated  cemetery  in  Scotland,  the  chosen  rest- 
ing-place of  chiefs  and  kings.  His  little  isle  be- 
came an  illustrious  seat  of  Christian  learning, 
from  which  went  out  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
with  evangelical  and  educating  influences,  over 
all  Scotland,  island  and  mainland,  and  far  be- 
yond its  bounds. 

Columba  was  a  man  of  superior  education 
among  the  men  of  his  time  in  his  own  coun- 
try, and  the  Irish  Scots  were  then  the  lights  of 
civilization  for  the  British  Isles.  He  wrote  both 
verse  and  prose  in  Latin  and  in  Irish,  and  his 
Latin  style  was  marked  by  accuracy  and  ease. 
His  ecclesiastical  system  was  also  educational. 
After  the  example  of  the  Irish  monasteries, 
his  mission-stations,  planted  at  many  different 
places  for  convenience  of  Christian  work,  were 
also  colleges  for  the  education  of  youth  and  the 
culture  of  religious  literature.^  The  work  of 
the  school  consisted  in  the  study  of  the  Latin 
language,  of  religious  Latin  literature,  and  es- 
pecially of  the  Latin  Bible,  with  the  doctrines  of 
revelation  as  then  classified  and  defined,  the 
practice  of  religious  duties,  observances  of 
devotion,  and  the  training  necessary  to  the 
proper  exercise  of  ministerial  functions.  The 
standard  of  doctrine  was  the  Bible.  Much 
time  was  devoted  to  copying  it  or  portions 
of   it,   and    in    the    study  of  it    help    was    ob- 

^  Skene,  ii.  75,  127,  etc. 


COLUMBA.  85 

tained  from  such  commentaries  and  summa- 
ries of  its  contents  as  their  learned  men  had 
prepared.  Some  of  the  brethren  gave  part  of 
their  time  to  original  composition  and  to  keep- 
ing a  record  of  passing  events.  But  the  great 
theme  of  their  studies  at  home  and  their  preach- 
ing among  the  people  was  the  gospel  of  salva- 
tion. 

Of  the  parts  of  their  public  worship,  and  what 
order  they  observed  in  it,  little  can  be  ascertained. 
Amonor  the  books  mentioned  as  studied  in  lona 
there  is  no  word  of  a  missal.  Perhaps  their  mis- 
sionaries demanded  a  freedom  in  adapdng  means 
to  unforeseen  circumstances  more  than  would  be 
compatible  with  a  prescribed  formulary.^  But 
doubtless  there  was  an  established  order  for  all 
ordinary  occasions.  The  elements  of  which  the 
daily  service  consisted  were  recitation  of  psalms, 
and  sometimes  perhaps  passages  of  other  Script- 
ure ;  and  prayer,  of  such  frequent  occurrence 
with  them  on  other  occasions,  could  not  be  ab- 
sent from  their  social  worship.  On  the  Lord's 
Day  the  principal  part  of  the  service  was  the 
Eucharist.  When  several  presbyters  were  pres- 
ent, one  was  selected  to  officiate,  who  mieht 
invite  a  brother-presbyter  to  break  bread  with 
him.  If  a  bishop  ministered,  "he  broke  the 
bread  alone."'"  But  that  was  in  the  social  ser- 
vice of  the  fraternity.      Before   the  people  to 

^  MLauchlan,  188.  *  Skene,  ii.  102. 


86  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

whom  their  mission  was  addressed,  beyond  all 
doubt  the  chief  part  of  worship  was  preaching 
the  gospel.  They  made  no  use  of  pictures  or 
images  as  helps  In  devotion ;  they  did  not 
appeal  to  the  Intercession  of  saints  nor  adore 
the  Virgin  Mary. 

Yet  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  conceive  of  those 
brethren  of  lona  as  entirely  free  from  the  super- 
stitious notions  accumulating  in  their  time.  Cel- 
ibacy they  might  have  defended  as  a  state  more 
expedient  for  them  In  the  enterprise  they  had 
undertaken,  but  they  certainly  deemed  It  holler 
than  that  of  God's  own  Institution.  Their  ton- 
sure, or  peculiar  cut  of  the  hair,  shaven  close 
over  the  fore  part  of  the  head,  had  nothing  but 
superstition  to  recommend  It.  Their  use  of  the 
cross  as  a  holy  sign  amounted  to  an  incanta- 
tion. Living  in  colleges  or  monastic  cells  they 
looked  upon  as  especially  favorable  to  devotion 
and  service  acceptable  to  God.  Some  of  their 
practices  were  peculiar  to  themselves  and  the 
Irish  Church  to  which  they  belonged,  such  as 
their  monastic  tonsure,  and  their  observance 
of  Easter  after  the  example,  as  they  under- 
stood it,  of  the  apostle  John.  But  the  greatest 
errors  of  the  Catholic  Church,  so  fast  accumula- 
ting in  the  sixth  century,  had  not  yet  corrupted 
their  faith. 

After  the  conversion  of  the  northern  PIcts, 
and    the    revival    of    Christianity    among    the 


COL  UMBA.  87 

Scottish  colonists  from  Ireland,  the  Columbite 
missionaries  followed  the  course  marked  out  by 
their  founder,  and  extended  their  enterprise  to 
the  interior  of  the  mainland  south,  until  their 
religious  influence  united  with  that  of  Strath- 
clyde  and  touched  the  borders  of  the  Teutonic 
settlers  on  the  eastern  coast,  who  were  still 
heathen. 


CHAPTER    X. 

LINDISFARNE. 

IN  the  year  635,  Oswald,  heir  of  the  Saxon 
kingdom  of  Northumbria,  having  been  con- 
verted to  Christianity  during  a  residence  of 
several  years  among  the  Scots,  succeeded  to 
the  throne  of  his  fathers.  Earnestly  desiring 
to  have  his  subjects  instructed  in  the  gospel,  he 
applied  to  the  Scottish  Church  for  a  missionary. 
One  of  the  brethren  from  lona  was  sent  to  him, 
but  proved  to  be  of  temper  too  severe,  and, 
meeting  with  no  success,  returned  in  discour- 
agement. His  place  was  better  filled  by  Aidan, 
another  priest  from  the  same  school,  and  a  man 
of  singular  meekness,  piety  and  moderation,  who 
was  received  with  high  respect  by  both  king  and 
people.  His  progress  was  rapid  and  of  sound 
effect.  Oswald  gave  him  a  residence  not  unlike 
that  which  he  had  left  in  the  Highlands. 

Eight  miles  south  of  Berwick,  at  the  foot  of 
the  seaward  hills  of  Northumberland,  and  sep- 
arated from  them  by  a  belt  of  water  about  two 
miles  broad,  but  at  one  place  almost  entirely 
withdrawn  at  low  tide,  lies  the  island  of  Lindis- 

88 


LINDISFAKNE.  89 

fame.  It  Is  only  seven  miles  in  circumference, 
and  contains  a  smaller  proportion  of  arable  land 
than  lona.  One-third  of  it,  to  the  north,  is  only 
a  group  of  sandbanks.  On  the  south-east  a 
lofty  rock  rises  precipitously  from  the  plain, 
crowned  with  a  castle  looking  southward,  while 
on  the  south-w^est  a  high  rocky  embankment 
runs  east  and  west  close  to  the  water's  edge. 
Between  these  two  elevations  lies  a  convenient 
little  harbor  for  small  craft.  From  the  rocky 
embankment  extends  a  stretch  of  rising  ground 
along  the  Avestern  side  of  the  island  until  it  joins 
the  sandhills  of  the  northern  extremity.  On  that 
rising  ground  did  Aidan  build  his  modest  home, 
close  under  the  shelter  of  the  embankment.  The 
finer  structures  that  followed  took  their  places 
successively  farther  to  the  north,  and  there  now 
moulder  their  ruins,  save  those  of  Aidan's  house, 
which,  afterward  rebuilt  by  Finan  of  wood  and 
thatched  with  reeds,  is  entirely  gone.  On  that 
same  rising  ground,  a  short  distance  from  the 
ruins  to  the  north,  stands  the  village  of  the 
present  day.  There  other  Scottish  clergy  came 
to  the  assistance  of  Aidan,  and  younger  men 
were  educated  for  the  ministry.  Lindisfarne 
became  another  seat  of  Christian  learning,  an 
lona  for  Northumbria,  and  out  from  it  proceed- 
ed missionaries  who  traveled  in  all  directions 
through  the  provinces  over  which  Oswald 
ruled,  preaching  the  gospel.     But  those  prov- 


90  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

inces  of  Northumbria  then  extended  along  the 
eastern  border  of  the  Strathclyde  kingdom  as  far 
to  the  northward  as  the  firth  of  Fo^th. 

Aidan,  founder  of  the  mission  college  on  Lin- 
disfarne,  died  in  651,  after  having  planted  and 
conducted  the  affairs  of  the  Church  in  North- 
umbria for  sixteen  years.  Finan,  another  monk 
from  lona,  took  his  place  and  proved  a  worthy 
successor. 

South  of  Northumbria  lay  another  Teutonic 
kingdom — that  of  Mercia,  sometimes  called  of 
the  Middle  Angles,  and  east  of  Mercia  that  of 
the  East  Angles,  corresponding  nearly  to  the 
present  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  and  farther  south 
that  of  the  East  Saxons.  To  all  these  the  same 
Christian  enterprise  extended. 

In  653,  Peada,  heir  to  the  crown  of  Mercia, 
was  united  by  marriage  with  the  royal  family 
of  Northumbria,  and  upon  hearing  the  gospel 
preached  declared  himself  a  believer  in  it. 
Missionaries,  at  his  request,  were  sent  from 
Lindisfarne  to  instruct  his  people;  and  so 
readily  was  their  doctrine  received  that  be- 
fore the  year  elapsed  Finan  could  afford  to 
withdraw  one  of  their  number  for  the  pur- 
pose of  sending  him  among  the  East  Angles. 
Finan  himself  went  to  preach  among  the  same 
people,  and  baptized  their  king,  Sigibert,  to- 
gether with  his  immediate  followers.  And 
the    planting  of   Christian  congregations  went 


LINDISFA  RNE.  9 1 

on,  going  southward  into  the  land  of  the  East 
Saxons. 

lona  was  now  at  the  height  of  her  influence. 
Christian  zeal  had  carried  the  gospel  over  Scot- 
land to  the  conversion  of  its  heathen  and  the 
revival  of  religion  among  nominal  Christians, 
and  into  the  Teutonic  settlements  of  Eng- 
land from  the  Forth  to  the  Thames.  Care 
had  also  been  taken  to  set  up  or  to  continue 
colleges  for  ministerial  education.  To  those 
at  Whithorn,^  Culross  and  Abernethy,  that  of 
Kentiorern  at  Glasg^ow  and  of  Ternan  at  Aber- 
deen,  and  many  of  less  dintinction  elsewhere, 
were  now  added  Coldingham  and  Melrose 
among  the  Saxons  on  the  Tweed,  and  for 
the  farther  south  the  greater  institution  on 
Lindisfarne. 

But  another  missionary  enterprise  was  at  the 
same  time  advancing  from  the  south.  In  the 
year  when  Columba  died  (597)  a  party  of  Ben- 
edictine monks,  with  Augustin  and  Lawrence  at 
their  head,  landed  on  the  coast  of  Kent.  They 
came  directly  from  Rome,  sent  by  Pope  Gregory 
I.  Ethelbert,  king  of  Kent,  influenced,  it  is  said, 
by  his  queen,  a  Christian  princess  of  the  royal 
house  of  the  Franks,  received  them  favorably, 
and  after  a  short  interval  professed  his  belief 
in  their  creed.  His  example  was  followed  by 
his  people,  ten   thousand  of  whom  were  bap- 

^  Bede,  V.  23. 


92.  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

tized  on  the  following  Christmas.  Canterbury 
was  constituted  an  archbishopric,  and  Augustin 
its  first  incumbent. 

The  plans  of  the  Romish  monks  wrought 
prosperously.  Proceeding  northward,  it  was 
not  long  until  they  encountered  the  mission- 
aries of  Lindisfarne.  On  several  points  their 
teaching  and  observances  were  found  to  differ. 
In  the  controversy  which  arose,  Lindisfarne,  sus- 
tained from  lona,  was  ill  matched  with  Canter- 
bury, backed  by  all  the  weight  of  Rome.  The 
Romish  monks,  proceeding  northward  and  by 
way  of  the  centre  of  England,  and  among  the 
Christian  Britons  of  the  west,  strove  as  much 
to  bring  the  British  churches  into  conformity 
with  their  own  practice  as  to  convert  the  hea- 
then. On  the  eastern  side  of  the  country,  while 
Aidan  was  in  the  midst  of  his  work  in  North- 
umbria,  they  had  succeeded  in  planting  a  mis- 
sionary as  far  north  as  York ;  but  so  little  was 
he  encouraged  by  success  that  he  soon  with- 
drew, and  the  ground  was  forthwith  occupied 
by  men  from  Lindisfarne.  Reinforcements 
were  sent  out  from  Canterbury,  by  whom  the 
Scottish  missionaries  were  charged  with  error 
on  the  subject  of  their  tonsure  and  in  their 
way  of  observing  the  Easter  festival. 

Durincr  the  administration  of  Coleman  as 
principal  of  Lindisfarne,  King  Oswy  of  North- 
umbria   called    a  conference  of  clergy,  consti- 


LIXDISFARNE.  93 

tilted  of  representatives  from  both  sides,  to  settle 
the  dispute.  It  took  place  In  664,  In  a  convent 
near  Whitby,  and  was  attended  by  King  Oswy 
and  his  son  Alfrld,  the  former  favoring  the 
Scottish  and  the  latter  the  Romish  side.  The 
chief  speakers  were  Wilfrid,  a  Saxon  priest, 
and  Coleman.  For  the  Scottish  practice  Cole- 
man pled  the  example  of  Columba  and  his 
predecessors,  traced  back  to  the  apostle  John. 
Wilfrid  endeavored  to  show  that  the  Scottish 
way  of  observing  Easter  did  not  entirely  coin- 
cide with  that  of  John,  belitded  the  name  of  Co- 
lumba, and  urged  for  the  authority  of  the  pope 
that  he  was  the  successor  of  the  apostle  Peter, 
to  whom  Christ  had  said,  "Thou  art  Peter,  and 
upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and  the 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  It ;  and 
to  thee  will  I  give  the  keys  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven." 

At  that  point  King  Oswy  turned  earnestly 
to  Coleman  with  the  question,  "  Is  it  true 
that  these  words  were  spoken  to  Peter  by 
our  Lord?"  "It  Is  true,  O  king,"  Coleman 
replied.  "  Can  you  show  any  such  power  given 
to  Columba?"  asked  the  king.  Coleman  an- 
swered, "  None."  Then,  addressinor  both  the 
debaters,  the  king  inquired,  "  Do  you  both 
agree  that  these  words  were  principally  di- 
rected to  Peter,  and  that  the  keys  of  heaven 


94  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

were  given  to  him  by  our  Lord?"  They  both 
answered,  "We  do." 

Without  waiting  for  any  further  explanation 
or  discussion,  he  forthwith  gave  his  judgment : 
"  I  also  say  unto  you  that  he  is  the  doorkeeper, 
whom  I  will  not  contradict,  but  will,  as  far  as  I 
know  and  am  able,  in  all  things  obey  his  de- 
crees, lest  when  I  come  to  the  gates  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  there  should  be  none  to 
open  them,  he  being  my  adversary  who  is 
proved  to  have  the  keys." 

In  that  decision  most  of  those  present  coin- 
cided. Only  the  keeping  of  Easter  and  the 
tonsure  were  discussed  on  that  occasion.  But 
the  Scottish  Church  differed  from  the  Romish 
on  more  vital  points  than  these,  as  appeared  in 
a  broader  conflict  at  a  later  time. 

Coleman,  defeated  but  not  convinced,  retired 
from  Northumbria,  and  spent  the  rest  of  his 
days  among  his  own  people.  Tuda,  another 
Scottish  priest,  more  compliant  with  the  south- 
ern discipline,  succeeded  him  in  office  for  a 
brief  term,  but  died  of  the  pestilence  in  the 
same  year. 

The  conformity  of  those  who  came  after  Tuda 
proved  to  be  all  that  Canterbury  could  desire. 
The  island  school  of  Northumbria,  with  its 
missions,  passed  entirely  out  of  the  Scottish 
Church  and  took  its  place  as  a  Romish  mon- 


L IND  IS  FA  RNE.  g  5 

astery.^  The  most  effective  agent  in  bringing 
about  that  change,  and  in  persuading  the  breth- 
ren to  become  Romish  monks,  was  Cuthbert, 
who  received  his  reward  in  the  most  miraculous 
honors  of  sainthood. 

^  Bede,  //.  £.,  iii.  25,-26. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

DECLINE     OF    lONA, 

AFTER  the  conference  at  Whitby  calam- 
ities fell  fast  upon  lona.  First  came  the 
loss  of  her  missions  in  England,  with  their 
principal  college  on  Lindisfarne,  which  within 
the  next  ten  years  were  all  gathered  into  the  net 
of  the  Roman  fisherman.  The  Scottish  minis- 
ters, who  could  not  submit  to  that  transfer,  with- 
drew into  their  own  country.  The  Saxons  of 
Northumbria  extended  their  rule  into  Galloway, 
where  early  in  the  next  century  they  created  a 
bishopric  with  its  seat  at  Whithorn,  and  sub- 
jected it  to  the  metropolitan  of  York.^  The 
ambition  of  their  king,  Egfrid,  prompted  him 
to  push  their  fortune  in  war  along  the  north- 
eastern coast.  In  685  he  invaded  the  territory 
of  the  Picts  beyond  the  Tay,  but  encountered  a 
ruinous  defeat,  which  compelled  the  withdrawal 
of  his  boundary  to  the  south  of  the  Tweed. 

That  great  gain  to  the  Picts  decided  the  weight 
of  political  power  in  their  favor  over  both  Scots 
and  Britons.  Their  victorious  king,  Nectan, 
assumed  his  position  accordingly.     Observing 

1  Bede,  H.  E.,  b.  v.  23. 
9C 


DECLINE    OE  lONA.  97 

that  the  Saxon  churches  had  all  separated  from 
lona,  he  entered  into  particular  inquiries  on  the 
subject,  and  in  710  sent  into  Northumbria,  to 
Ceolfrid,  abbot  of  Jarrow,  desiring  instructions 
touching  the  proper  tonsure  for  the  clergy  and 
the  proper  observance  of  Easter,  and  asking 
for  architects  to  build  a  church  in  his  kingdom 
after  the  Roman  manner,  which  he  would  ded- 
icate to  St.  Peter.  He  also  promised  that  he 
and  his  people  would  follow  the  custom  of  the 
Roman  Church  as  far  as  they  could  obtain  know- 
ledge of  it  in  their  remote  quarter  of  the  world 
and  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  Roman  lan- 
guage. Ceolfrid  complied  with  the  request,  and 
sent  full  instructions  on  the  points  of  inquiry  by 
the  hands  of  the  architects  who  were  to  build 
the  church.  The  king  accepted  them,  and 
forthwith  decreed  the  Roman  observance  of 
Easter  and  the  tonsure  called  that  of  St.  Peter 
for  the  clergy.^  A  few  years  later  (718)  the 
Columbans,  who  refused  to  submit,  were  ban- 
ished, and  their  institutions  thrown  open  to 
Saxon  monks,  or  others  w^io  felt  free  to  con- 
form to  the  new  law. 

Repeated  attacks  were  made  upon  lona  her- 
self from  the  same  quarter.  Adamnan,  one  of 
her  own  fraternity,  and  abbot  from  679  to  704, 
having  traveled  in  England  and  visited  the  same 
Ceolfrid  of  Jarrow,  was  by  him  persuaded  to  ac- 

1  Bede,  //.  E.,  b.  v.,  c.  21. 


98  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

cept  the  Romish  ways.  Upon  his  return  he 
tried  to  introckice  them  at  home,  but  succeeded 
In  only  creating  a  schism,  which  ended  in  the 
victory  of  the  Scottish  party.  Tw^elve  years 
after  Adamnan's  death,  Egbert,  a  Saxon  priest, 
went  to  lona  and  resided  amone  the  brethren 
thirteen  years — long  enough  to  convert  them, 
as  far  as  the  proper  time  for  Easter  and  the 
place  and  shape  of  the  tonsure  were  concerned, 
and  having  done  so  died  In  peace.^ 

Controversies  about  a  monkish  way  of  shav- 
ing a  part  of  the  head  and  the  precise  day  of 
observing  Easter  may  be  considered  of  import- 
ance by  some  persons,  by  others  of  none  ;  but  in 
this  case  thev  demonstrate  one  thine  worth  no- 
tice — namely,  that  the  Scottish  Church  of  those 
days,  with  lona  at  her  head,  held  no  relations  to 
Rome  and  recoenized  no  bindine  force  in  the 
pope's  authority  ;  and  when  some  of  her  people 
conformed  to  Romish  practices,  It  was  through 
persuasion  of  their  Saxon  neighbors  or  obedi- 
ence to  an  arbitrary  king,  and  not  because  their 
Church  acknowledged  a  papal  right  to  their 
alleg-Iance. 

The  PIcts  could  not,  as  a  whole,  have  been 
satisfied  with  the  violent  measures  of  Nectan. 
Their  Church  fell  into  disorder.  It  was  left  al- 
most destitute  of  a  ministry.  To  supply  it 
with  Saxons  was  impracticable.    Whatever  the 

1  Bede,  H.  E.,  b.  v.,  c.  22. 


DECLLVE    OF  lOXA.  99 

king's  charity  might  be,  it  was  not  reasonable 
to  expect  that  his  people  should  willingly  accept 
their  religious  counsels  and  consolations  from 
the  ranks  of  their  bitterest  hereditary  enemies. 
Some  of  the  vacated  or  partly  vacated  Colum- 
ban  houses  were  seized  by  laymen,  and  under 
the  pretence  of  providing  a  ministry  turned  to 
the  account  of  their  own  temporal  interests. 
Nectan  withdrew  from  the  strife  of  business 
to  spend  his  last  days  in  exercises  of  religion. 

In  that  embarrassed  condition  of  the  Pictish 
Church  a  new  class  of  clergy  made  their  ap- 
pearance, with  an  organization  similar  to  that 
of  the  Columban,  and  filling  their  place  in  con- 
ducting the  more  spiritual  parts  of  worship. 

From  the  time  of  the  immediate  successors 
of  St.  Patrick  the  practice  of  solitary  asceticism 
prevailing  on  the  Continent  extended  also  to 
Ireland.  Men  of  earnest  but  gloomy  piety 
sought  lonely  places  in  some  wilderness  or 
far-off  islet  in  the  ocean,  where  in  solitude 
they  devoted  their  days  to  religious  exercises 
and  meditation.  Not  belonging  to  any  monas- 
tic order  nor  bound  by  obligatory  rule,  they 
lived  each  according  to  his  own  plan.  On  the 
Continent  such  independent  ascetics  were  in 
great  numbers  scattered  about  in  desert 
places,  but  some  also  in  the  neighborhood 
of  cities.  Most  of  them,  no  doubt,  earnest, 
godly  devotees,  they  all    enjoyed    the    reputa- 


100  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

tlon  of  extraordinary  piety,  and  were  often, 
as  a  class,  termed  Deicolce,  that  is,  God- wor- 
shipers, meaning  that  they  were  men  who 
minded  no  other  business  than  the  worship 
of  God.  To  the  Irish  recluses  the  same 
name  was  applied,  but  in  the  reverse  order 
of  its  component  parts — Ceilede,  servants  of 
God. 

The  vast  increase  of  such  solitaries,  and 
their  irrresponsible  character,  created  anxiety 
in  the  Catholic  Church,  and  several  councils 
in  the  seventh  century  took  action  with  a 
view  to  bring  them  under  some  common 
restraint  and  to  diminish  their  numbers. 
Among  those  of  Irish  and  Scottish  connec- 
tion— for  there  were  many  such  belonging  to 
the  Columban  Church — a  similar  feeling  began 
to  actuate  some  of  themselves.  They  had  come 
to  the  belief  that  it  would  be  profitable  for  two 
or  three  of  them  to  occupy  cells  in  each  other's 
neighborhood.  Accordingly,  numbers  of  such 
little  neighborhoods  of  hermits  grew  up  in  Ire- 
land. Without  surrendering  their  solitary  habits 
and  freedom,  their  vicinity  to  one  another  must 
have  exerted  over  them  an  influence  of  regula- 
tion, and  principles  of  community  came  to  be 
agreed  upon. 

It  was  an  association  of  this  kind  which  ap- 
peared in  the  land  of  the  Picts  soon  after  the 
expulsion  of   the  Columban   ministry,  and  SO7 


DECLINE    OF  lONA.  lOI 

berly  taking  their  place,  which  they  continued 
to  fill  acceptably,  and  with  high  reputation  for 
some  of  the  best  features  of  a  pastoral  minis- 
try. Among  the  Picts  they  were  called  Keledei, 
which  in  course  of  time  changed  to  Culdee,  of 
the  same  meaning  with  the  Irish  and  continen- 
tal terms. 

Like  the  Scottish  brethren,  they  were  coeno- 
bites, but  not  regular  monks.  They  were  secu- 
lar clergy,  and  their  institutions  were  colleges, 
not  monasteries — more  like  cloisters  of  secular 
canons  in  the  Catholic  Church.  Yet  their  free- 
dom was  greater  than  that  of  secular  canons. 
They  were  under  no  vow  of  celibacy,  and 
some  of  them  were  married.  So  nearly  did 
their  fraternities  resemble  those  of  the  Co- 
lumban  type  that,  although  not  quite  the 
same,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  two  should 
have  been  identified  by  writers  both  mediaeval 
and  recent,  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant. 
Having  their  origin  also  in  the  same  Irish 
Church,  the  Columbans  and  Culdees  held  to 
the  same  theological  doctrines.^  In  their  way 
of  living  they  were  "accustomed  to  fastings  and 
sacred  vigils  at  certain  seasons,  intent  on  psalms 
and  prayers  and  meditation  on  the  divine  word, 
and  content  with  sparing  diet  and  dress,"  they 
suffered  no  time  of  the  day  to  pass  without  its 
proper  employment. 

1  Skene,  ii.  ch.  vi. ;   M'Lauclilan,  ch.  xix. 


102  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Although  by  the  victories  of  Nectan,  and 
afterward  of  Angus,  who  succeeded  to  the 
Pictish  throne  in  731,  the  superiority  in  force 
of  the  Picts  over  both  Scots  and  Britons  was 
proved,  and  Saxon  dominion  was  pushed  back 
to  the  south  of  the  Tweed,  the  Saxon  people 
w^ere  not  driven  out,  nor  did  Saxon  invasion 
cease.  The  country  between  the  Forth  and 
Tweed  continued  to  be  the  seat  of  war.  Tra- 
dition narrates  that  in  a  campaign  within  those 
bounds  Kino^  Anorus  had  a  vision  of  St.  Andrew 
or  heard  his  voice  in"  the  air,  promising  him  vic- 
tory "  if  he  will  dedicate  the  tenth  of  his  posses- 
sions to  God  and  St.  Andrew."  Putting  faith 
in  the  saint,  he  proved  victorious.  On  his  way 
home  he  was  *'  met  by  Regulus,  a  monk  from 
Constantinople,  with  relics  of  St.  Andrew."  ^ 
And  the  king,  thus  providentially  constrained, 
recognized  his  obligations,  and  founded  a  new 
religious  house  at  Mucross  in  Fifeshire,  which 
he  dedicated  to  St.  Andrew  as  the  patron  saint 
of  his  kingdom.'^ 

Early  in  the  ninth  century  the  people  of  North 
Britain  first  beheld  the  swift-sailing  ships  of  the 
Vikings.  In  their  long  wars  with  Charlemagne 
the  northern  Germans  had  been  compelled  to 
settle  on  the  lands  assio^ned  them  or  to  retreat 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  emperor's  conquests. 
Those  who  chose  the  latter  found  themselves 

^  Skene,  i.  296,  297.  -  Ibid  ,  ii.  272. 


DECLINE    OF  10 NA.  IO3 

confined  to  wildernesses,  mountains  and  marshes, 
where  a  brief  summer  and  a  scanty  and  un- 
kindly soil  left  little  to  be  hoped  from  culture. 
Daring  enterprise  looked  out  upon  the  sea. 
The  land  could  supply  them  with  timber,  iron 
and  pitch  and  the  safe  refuge  of  harbors.  For 
everything  else  they  trusted  to  the  sea.  Fish 
were  to  be  orathered  from  its  w^aters,  an  inex- 
haustible  supply,  and  its  surface  could  carry 
them  to  partake  in  the  harvests  and  collected 
products  of  lands  more  highly  favored.  They 
had  been  driven  by  violence  from  their  own 
possessions  ;  might  they  not  indemnify  them- 
selves from  the  surplus  of  others?  Sweeping 
over  the  ocean  from  the  fiords  of  Norway,  their 
ships  flitted  along  the  coasts  of  Scotland  and 
England  and  swarmed  among  the  islands  and 
the  sea-lochs  of  the  western  Highlands.  Push- 
ing into  some  inviting  scene  on  land,  their  war- 
riors would  leap  ashore,  rush  upon  whatever 
they  found  available  for  plunder,  hurry  it  on 
board,  and  disappear  as  swiftly  as  they  came. 
Churches  and  other  religious  houses,  usually 
containing  w^ealthy  deposits,  the  gifts  of  grate- 
ful piety,  were  a  favorite  quarry  for  those  hunt- 
ers of  the  sea. 

lona  had  become  a  much-frequented  shrine 
of  pilgrimage,  enriched  by  donations,  favored 
by  kings — some  of  whom  were  proud  to  enroll 
themselves  among  the  brethren — and  sought  as 


I04  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  place  of  sepulture  for  those  whom  their 
friends  or  the  Scottish  nation  desired  to  honor. 
The  little  isle  had  ceased  to  enjoy  the  safety  of 
poverty  and  insignificance.  It  was  the  most 
conspicuous  mark  for  piracy.  As  early  as  802 
its  religious  houses  were  visited  by  the  sea- 
kings,  plundered  and  burned.  Four  years 
later  the  invasion  was  renewed,  the  island 
ravaged  and  many  of  the  brethren  slain. 
The  richness  of  the  booty  attracted  other 
adventurers  of  the  same  class,  and  the  re- 
peatedly repaired  buildings  were  subjected  to 
repeated  desolation. 

In  814  a  new  Columbite  church  was  com- 
pleted at  Kells,^  in  the  county  of  Meath  in 
Ireland,  which  became  a  refuge  for  residents 
of  lona  when  harassed  in  their  own  exposed 
situation.  In  Scotland  also,  for  greater  secu- 
rity, as  well  as  for  other  reasons,  much  of  the 
weight  of  Columbite  churchism  was  about  the 
same  time  transferred  by  Constantine,  king  of 
the  Picts,  to  Dunkeld,^  although  even  that  in- 
land town  was  not  entirely  safe  from  piratical 
ravages.  The  island  sanctuary  was  subse- 
quently revived,  and  continued  long  to  be  a 
highly  venerated  seat  of  Christian  learning, 
but  its  primacy  came  to  an  end,  divided  be- 
tween Ireland  and  the  Scottish  mainland. 

In    the  early  part  of   the  ninth   century  the 

^  Skene,  i.  305. 


DECLINE    OF  lONA.  10$ 

Pictish  kings  had  put  their  people  at  the  head 
of  the  nations  in  Scotland.  But  a  great  calam- 
ity followed  soon  after.  Disastrously  defeated, 
in  839,  by  a  piratical  invasion  of  the  Danes, 
they  were  unable  to  sustain  themselves  in  war 
with  their  Scottish  neighbors.  Upon  the  death 
of  the  last  heir  of  their  dynasty,  in  844,  Ken- 
neth, king  of  the  Scots,  succeeded  to  the  Pict- 
ish throne.^  The  Scottish  seat  of  destiny  was 
removed  from  the  palace  of  Dunstaffnage  to 
the  Pictish  capital  at  Scone,  and  the  two 
crowns  were  permanently  united.^  At  first  the 
new  kingdom  was  that  of  the  Picts  and  Scots, 
but  in  course  of  time  the  name  "Pict"  fell  out 
of  use,  and  that  of  *' Scot "  covered  the  whole; 
and  that  very  naturally  in  days  when  the  king 
was  the  chief  bond  of  nationality.  The  united 
kingdom  received  the  name  Alban  or  Scotia. 

Meanwhile,  the  old  British  kingdom  of  Strath- 
clyde,  with  its  head  of  authority  at  Glasgow,  still 
retained  its  separate  independence,  although, 
together  with  Galloway,  greatly  weakened  by 
incursions  from  their  northern  neighbors  and 
from  the  Saxons  of  Northumbria.  Between 
the  Forth  and  Tweed,  the  eastern  part  of  the 
country,  called  Saxonia,  was  still  a  debatable 
land,  and  those  who  contended  for  it  on  both 
sides  were  equally  harassed  by  Northmen  from 
the  sea. 

'  Skene,  i.  308-310.         ^  Buchanan,  lib.  vi.  LXIX.  Rex,  near  the  end. 


Io6  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

It  was  in  the  reign  of  the  Pictish  king  Con- 
stantine,  who  died  in  820/  that  the  new  college 
at  Dunkeld  was  founded/  being  the  third  among 
that  people,  Abernethy  being  the  first  and  St. 
Andrews  the  second.  Afterward,  when  Scone 
became  the  capital  of  the  united  kingdom,  and 
Dunstaffnage  w^as  deserted,  lona  was  left  at  a 
distance  from  all  protection.  As  a  place  of 
royal  sepulture  it  also  became  inconvenient. 
Lying,  as  it  did,  in  the  way  of  the  Vikings  as 
they  swept  through  the  Western  Isles  to  the 
coasts  of  Ireland,  nothing  but  poverty  could 
save  the  lives  of  its  inhabitants.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  union  of  the  Scots  with  the 
Picts  the  connections  between  the  royal  fam- 
ilies of  the  Scots  and  those  of  Ireland  became 
relaxed.  Prom  neither  side  could  lona  be  main- 
tained in  its  former  rank. 

The  Scottish  king  Kenneth,  on  coming  to  the 
throne  of  the  Picts,  resolved  to  restore  the  Co- 
lumban  Church  to  its  power  among  that  people, 
from  whom  it  had  been  expelled  in  the  forego- 
ing century.  To  that  end  he  selected  Dunkeld, 
perhaps  as  the  most  central  seat  for  ecclesi- 
astical supremacy  over  the  Columbans  in  his 
dominions,  and,  there  erecting  a  new  church 
building,  or  perhaps  renewing  that  of  Con- 
stantine,  removed  to  it  a  part  of  the  relics 
of  Columba.- 

'  Skene,  i.  305.  ^  ibid.,  li.  307. 


DECLINE    OF  lONA.  IO7 

At  first  the  Scandinavian  invaders  were 
heathen,  but  as  time  went  on  intercourse 
w'lXh.  the  Christians  among  whom  they  Hved 
brought  about  the  conversion  of  their  set- 
tlers, who  became  Christian  according  to  the 
instructions  proceeding  from  lona.  Later  im- 
migrations from  Norway  brought  Christians  af- 
ter the  type  of  Romanism  planted  in  their  native 
land  by  the  successors  of  Anschar/  But  that  in 
the  Hebrides  was  a  small  element  of  popula- 
tion, and  created  no  discord  in  the  religion  of 
the  country.  They  now  ceased  to  be  plunder- 
ing Vikings.  Shetland  and  the  Orkneys  were 
completely  under  Norwegian  rule,  and  contin- 
ued so  to  be  until  the  fifteenth  century.^ 

Scottish  clergy  of  the  Columbite  school  had 
carried  the  gospel  to  those  northern  islands, 
but,  exposed  to  the  full  storm  of  Norwegian 
warfare,  they  seem  to  have  been  early  exter- 
minated. Tales  are  told  also  of  their  missions 
to  the  Faroe  Islands,  to  Iceland  and  to  Green- 
land, and  even  of  their  enterprise,  or  desperate 
flight  from  persecution,  beyond  the  ocean  to  the 
coast  of  North  America.^  Such  traditions  bear 
testimony  at  least  to  a  prevailing  belief  in  the 
greatness  of  their  missionary  courage  and  de- 
votion. 

1  Maclear,  The  Northmen.  2  ibid.  ;  Skene,  i.  375-379. 

'  Brit,  and  For.  Evangel.  Rev.  for  July,  188 1,  iii. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

CONSTRUCTING   THE  KINGDOM  OF  SCOTLAND. 

OVER  Europe  in  general  the  tenth  century 
was  a  period  of  great  depression.  Ignor- 
ance prevailed.  There  was  no  popular  educa- 
tion. Even  among  families  of  wealth  and  high 
rank  only  the  members  designed  for  the  priest- 
hood were  instructed  in  letters.  For  the  rest 
it  was  deemed  enough  to  learn  how  to  manage 
a  horse  and  wield  their  weapons.  Ecclesiastics, 
content  with  their  superiority  of  intelligence  and 
the  submission  of  the  multitude,  indulged  their 
indolence.  Spiritual  enterprise  lay  torpid.  The 
energies  of  the  great  Catholic  Church  were  ex- 
pended chiefly  upon  the  enlargement  of  her 
endowments  and  increase  of  her  subjects  and 
power.  The  proper  work  of  the  gospel  lan- 
guished, and  ecclesiasticism  became  secular. 
The  Scottish  severed  from  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  thereby  saved  from  partaking  in  her  evils, 
suffered  from  other  evils  native  to  itself. 

Among  the  many  peoples  who  divided  the 
territory  of  North  Britain,  the  Picts  had  hith- 
erto been  strongest.  By  the  arrival  of  the 
Northmen    their   superiority   was   divided   with 

108 


CONSTRUCTING    THE   KINGDOM  OF  SCOTLAND.    IO9 

a  dangerous  competitor.  The  friendly  colony 
of  Dalriad  Scots  had  grown  into  a  kingdom. 
Although  a  warlike  people,  their  progress  had 
not  been  alarming  to  their  neighbors,  but 
rather  connected  with  the  diffusion  of  Chris- 
tianity, lona  was  within  their  bounds,  and 
their  seat  of  royalty  was  not  far  off  at  Dun- 
staffnage  in  Lorn.  In  respect  to  religion  the 
Scots  had  long  submitted  to  a  grievance  from 
their  Pictish  neighbors,  whom  their  mission- 
aries had  converted.  Kings  of  the  Picts,  be- 
coming acquainted  with  Romish  practices  from 
Saxon  monks,  had  imposed  them  on  the  Scot- 
tish Church  in  their  dominions,  driving  the 
Scottish  clergy  into  banishment  and  alienating 
the  institutions  they  had  founded. 

Union  of  the  two  nations  in  one  kingdom 
under  a  Scottish  dynasty  formed  a  new  power 
which  might  hope  to  resist  the  Northmen. 
But  it  needed  compacting  by  a  sense  of  satis- 
faction on  both  sides.  Among  the  measures 
necessary  to  that  end,  agreement  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religion  was  most  of  all  necessary. 
Of  that  the  early  kings  of  the  united  kingdom 
seem  to  have  been  well  aware.  By  Kenneth, 
the  first  of  that  line,  freedom  was  at  once 
secured  for  the  Scottish  clergy  in  his  Pictish 
provinces,  and,  as  far  as  practicable,  restora- 
tion of  the  religious  houses  from  which  they 
had   been   expelled.      And   on   the  other   side, 


no  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  place  of  lona  as  a  religious  centre  was 
given  to  Dunkeld  in  the  land  of  the  Picts, 
and  where  already  stood  a  Pictish  church. 

As  another  element  of  compromise,  the  ab- 
bot of  Dunkeld  w^as  made  also  bishop  over 
the  .territories  of  the  Picts  which  had  come 
under  Kenneth's  rule.  Thus  the  same  per- 
son, *'as  abbot  of  Dunkeld,  occupied  toward 
the  Columban  monasteries  in  Scotland  the 
same  position  as  had  belonged  to  lona,"  while 
as  bishop  "  he  was  the  recognized  head  of  the 
Pictish  Church."^  In  the  next  reig-n  these 
offices  were  separated,  the  episcopal  office 
being  transferred  to  Abernethy,  but  still  in 
the  land  of  the  Picts,  and  only  one  bishop  for 
the  whole  kingdom.^ 

Girig,  the  fifth  king  in  that  list,  although 
apparently  of  foreign  birth,  is  honored  on  the 
ancient  record  of  the  Picts  and  Scots  as  he 
who  first  eave  freedom  to  the  Scottish  Church, 
which  until  that  time  had  been  in  bondage  un- 
der the  law  and  usage  of  the  Picts. ^  Perhaps 
he  added  to  what  Kenneth  had  done  the  relief 
of  church  property  from  the  bondage  of  sec- 
ular exactions  which  it  had  suffered  under  Pict- 
ish rule.^ 

Seven  Scottish  kin^s  reio^ned  within  the  tenth 
centurv  over  the  united  kingdom,  now  called 
Alban.     Of  these  the  first  and  most  eminent 

1  Skene,  ii.  308. 


COXSl^RUCTING    THE    KIXGDOM   OI'    SCOTLAND.    Ill 

was  Constantlne,  second  of  that  name  in  the 
Scottish  Hne.  In  the  beginning  of  his  reign 
Norwegian  invasion  upon  the  centre  of  his  king- 
dom was  finally  repelled,  and  Danish  pirates  in 
East  Lothian  were  constrained  to  retire  far- 
ther south  from  the  territory  over  which  he 
ruled.  In  both  of  those  hard  conflicts  the 
standard  was  the  pastoral  staff  of  Columba/ 

Constantine  was  less  successful  in  his  wars 
with  the  kingdom  of  Wessex.  On  that  side  he 
had  to  contend  against  the  illustrious  Saxon 
monarch  Athelstan,  who  met  his  movements 
southward  by  a  retaliating  raid  upon  the  heart 
of  his  dominions,  and  finally,  in  937,  termi- 
nated his  campaigns  by  the  disastrous  battle 
of  Brunanburh. 

After  his  early  success  in  war  with  the  Nor- 
wegians and  Danes,  Constantine  gave  much 
care  and  labor  to  the  consolidation  of  his  king- 
dom and  to  the  obliterating  of  national  distinc- 
tions among  his  subjects,  endeavoring  to  put 
all  upon  a  fair  legal  and  religious  equality.  In 
the  sixth  year  of  his  reign  he  convoked  a  great 
assembly  on  the  Moothill,  near  the  "royal  city 
of  Scone,"  in  which  he  and  Kellach,  a  bishop, 
assumed  a  solemn  obligation  to  observe  the 
laws  and  discipline  of  the  faith  and  the  rights 
of  the  churches  and  of  the  gospel,  and  that 
they   should    be    maintained    on    a   footing    of 

1  Skene,  i.  347.  348- 


112  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

equality  with  the  Scots.^  By  this  declaration 
the  PIctlsh  and  Scottish  churches  were  to  be 
united,  and  one  bishop  set  over  them,  whose 
residence  was  to  be  in  St.  Andrews.  Kellach 
was  himself  the  first  of  that  line  of  bishops. 
His  jurisdiction  was  the  whole  united  kingdom 
of  the  Scots  and  Picts,  then  called  Alban,  after- 
ward Scotia.  That  kingdom,  under  Constan- 
tlne,  included  all  the  mainland  from  Loch  Broom 
and  Dornoch  Firth  on  the  north  to  the  Forth 
and  Clyde  and  the  extremity  of  Kintyre  on  the 
south.  Caithness  and  Sutherland,  with  all  the 
island  groups — Orkney,  Shetland  and  Heb- 
rides— were  in  possession  of  the  Norwegians. 
South  of  the  Clyde  and  Forth,  the  east  was 
occupied  by  Saxons,  the  extreme  south-west 
by  Celts  of  Galloway,  and  the  centre,  from  the 
firth  of  Clyde  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the 
Solway,  constituted  the  kingdom  of  Strath- 
clyde,  otherwise  called  that  of  the  North  Cum- 
brian Britons.  The  Isle  of  Man  was  held  by 
the  Danes,  who  had  also  possessions  In  Ire- 
land. After  a  busy  and  agitated  reign  Con- 
stantine  11.  withdrew  from  the  cares  of  state, 
and  spent  the  last  nine  years  of  his  life  In  the 
duties  of  religion  among  the  clerical  fraternity 
of  St.  Andrews. 

Malcolm  I.,  the  successor  of  Constantine,  at- 
tempted to  extend  the  borders  of  his  kingdom 

^  Skene,  i.  340 ;   ii.  323,  324;   M'Lauchlan,  308,  309. 


CONSTRUCTING    THE   KINGDOM   OF  SCOTLAND.    II3 

on  the  north,  to  Include  all  the  mainland  In  that 
direction.  But  he  failed  to  carry  them  north  of 
Moray,  nor  even  in  that  province  was  his  rule 
firmly  established.  Meanwhile,  further  additions 
were  made  on  the  south.  The  Danish  kings  of 
Ireland  were  makine  effort  to  annex  Northum- 
bria  to  their  conquests.  Landing  on  the  coast  of 
Cumbria  (the  present  Cumberland  and  West- 
moreland), they  overran  it  and  made  it  their  path 
to  a  greater  object  of  their  ambition.  For  the 
Northumbrians  had  chosen  "Olaf  of  Ireland  for 
their  king."  But  Edmund,  brother  of  Athelstan, 
and  his  successor  on  the  English  throne,  defeated 
their  plans,  and  In  944  removed  all  resistance  to 
himself  from  Northumberland.  The  next  year, 
to  break  off  Its  communications  with  Ireland,  he 
reduced  Cumberland,  and  gave  it  to  Malcolm, 
king  of  the  Scots,  on  condition  of  co-operating 
with  him  both  by  land  and  sea.^  Upon  Ed- 
mund's death,  Edred  Atheling  brought  all 
Northumberland  under  English  rule  (954). 
And  thus  the  border  of  England  was  carried 
to  the  Tweed,  while  the  dominions  of  the  Scot- 
tish king  extended  on  the  south  into  Cumber- 
land and  Westmoreland. 

The  same  year  Malcolm  lost  his  life  in  a 
further  attempt  on  Moray.  In  the  succeeding 
reign  of  Indulph  (954-962)  the  Scots  obtained 
possession   of    Edinburgh,^  a   strong  base   for 

1  Skene,  i.  361-363.  2  Ibid.,  i.  365. 


114  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

movement  upon  the  Saxon  settlements  to  the 
south-east.  And  after  the  less  important  reigns 
of  Duff  and  Cuilean,  the  next  king,  Kenneth 
II.,  actually  turned  his  enterprise  in  that  direc- 
tion. His  ambition  was  to  reduce  the  inter- 
vening territory  and  annex  Northumberland  to 
Scotland,  while  the  English  king  insisted  upon 
his  claim  to  the  eastern  coast  as  far  as  the 
Forth.  Battles  were  fought,  but  the  perma- 
nent chano-e  on  either  side  was  small.  On  the 
north,  Norwegian  dominion  had  returned  to  the 
southern  borders  of  Moray,  under  the  valorous 
leadership  of  Sigurd  the  Stout,  who  held  his 
hereditary  earldom  of  Caithness  in  spite  of  all 
the  force  of  the  Scots,  and  annually  made  his 
expedition  to  the  Hebrides  and  to  Ireland, 
and  added  to  the  territory  of  his  fathers  the 
provinces  of  Moray  and  Ross,  with  a  large 
extent  of  country  down  the  western  coast  into 
Argyll. 

Kenneth,  thus  limited  by  strong  enemies  on 
both  north  and  south,  was  constrained  to  con- 
fine the  efforts  of  his  long  reign  to  the  consoli- 
dation of  the  internal  power  of  what  he  already 
possessed.  His  successor,  Constantine  IV.,^  was 
slain  in  a  battle  with  an  opposing  party  of  his  j 
own  subjects  before  the  end  of  his  second  year. 
Kenneth  III.  met  the  same  fate  after  a  reign 
of  six  years,  but  meanwhile  had  maintained  the 

'  SlcMie,  374-3S0. 


COiXSl'RrCTLYG    THE   KINGDOM  OF  SCOTLAND.     II5 

boundaries  of  his  kinordom  as  it  came  into  his 
hands,  and  transmitted  it  unimpaired  to  his  suc- 
cessor, Malcohn  II.  And  Malcolm,  by  his  great 
victory  of  Carham  over  the  Northumbrians  in 
1 01 8,  carried  the  boundaries  of  his  kingdom 
from  the  Forth  to  the  Tweed ;  and,  with  the 
previous  extension  of  Cumbria  southward,  his 
grandson  Duncan,  king  of  Cumbria,  from  the 
same  date  reigned  on  the  west  as  far  south  as 
the  Derwent  and  over  more  than  half  of  West- 
moreland/ 

The  royal  line  of  Strathclyde — which  must 
now  be  called  Cumbria — had  hitherto  pro- 
ceeded from  an  ancient  family  claiming  Ro- 
man descent.  In  908  that  dynasty  came  to 
an  end,  and  Donald,  brother  of  Constantine 
II.  of  Alban,  was  elected  king.^  In  the  third 
generation  a  grandson  of  the  Scottish  king 
succeeded  as  heir  to  the  same  throne,^  and 
on  the  death  of  his  grandfather  inherited  that 
of  the  Scots.  Thus  in  1034  the  kingdoms  were 
united  under  the  Scottish  dynasty. 

In  those  days  of  spiritual  inactivity  the  polit- 
ical and  social  standing  of  the  Scottish  Church 
was  high.  Churchmen  were  on  an  equality  with 
the  noblest  of  the  land.  An  abbot  of  Dunkeld 
marries  the  daughter  of  a  king,  and  their  son 
takes  his  place  in  the  royal  succession  ;  and  the 
abbacy  of  a  Columbite  monastery,  or  even  a 

1  Skene,  i.  394,  398,  399.  2  ibid.,  346.  ^  ibid.,  392. 


Il6  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

place  among  the  brotherhood,  Is  held  to  be  not 
unworthy  the  dignity  of  a  retired  monarch. 

lona  continued  her  ecclesiastical  existence — 
still  the  link  between  the  Irish  and  the  Scottish 
Church — but  under  deep  depression,  and  only 
as  aided  by  other  Institutions  of  the  connection. 
Sometimes  an  Irish  abbot,  as  of  Raphoe  or  of 
Armagh,  would  be  constituted  also  abbot  of 
lona  as  chief  of  the  Columblte  fraternity.  But 
for  a  long  time  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  of 
them  made  his  abode  on  the  island.^  Later 
in  the  century  it  appears  that  there  was  a  resi- 
dent abbot  at  the  same  time  with  the  chief  In 
Ireland.  In  986  the  Danes  put  to  death  the 
successor  of  Columba  at  Dublin,  and  in  an  ex- 
pedition to  the  Hebrides  slew  the  abbot  of  lona 
with  fifteen  of  his  clergy."  Norwegians  and 
Danes  had  now  obtained  complete  command 
of  the  sea  between  Ireland  and  North  Britain, 
and  the  formerly  intimate  relations  between  the 
churches  of  the  two  countries  ceased.  With 
the  rise  of  Dunkeld  and  Abernethy  and  St. 
Andrews  on  one  side,  and  the  obstruction  of 
communication  with  Ireland  on  the  other,  lona 
was  shorn  of  her  power,  but  even  under  the 
heaviest  adversity  had  not  ceased  to  be  the 
most  venerated  shrine  in  the  land  of  the  Scots. 

There  w^as  now  a  Scodand,  comprehending 
the    greater    part   of    North    Britain.       It   had 

1  M'Lauchlan,  310-312.  2  Skene,  ii.  333. 


COySTKi'CTIXG    THE   KINGDOM   OF  SCOTLAND.     II/ 

grown  from  the  little  Scottish  kingdom  of 
Argyll,  by  union  with  the  best  of  PIctland, 
then  by  victory  securing  the  land  of  the  Sax- 
ons on  the  lower  Tweed,  and  by  dynastic  rela- 
tionship annexing  the  whole  of  Cumbria.  Still, 
much  was  lacking  of  completeness.  Galloway 
stood  out  as  a  separate  state,  and  Caithness 
and  Sutherland  and  a  large  tract  of  the  western 
coast  and  all  the  islands  were  in  the  hands  of 
the  Northmen. 

The  northern  invaders  were  still  for  the  most 
part  heathen,  but  In  the  land  from  which  they 
came  the  work  of  the  Gallic  missionary  Anschar 
was  making  progress — greater  than  It  had  made 
durinor  his  lifetime — althougfh  slow  In  reachine 

o  o  t> 

Norway;  and  those  who  had  secured  settle- 
ments on  the  islands  and  coasts  of  Scotland 
were  gradually  brought  into  conformity  with 
the  Christianity  prevailing  around  them.  In 
course  of  time  a  change  took  place  whereby 
the  Northmen  setded  in  the  islands  began  to 
claim  an  interest  in  the  ecclesiastical  Institutions 
which  their  forefathers  had  plundered.  This 
took  place  chletiy  in  the  Shetland  and  Orkney 
islands  after  the  eleventh  century;  but  already, 
in  the  tenth,  one  of  the  Danish  kings  of  Dublin 
went  on  a  pilgrimage  to  lona,  Avhere  he  died 
"after  penance  and  a  good  life."  ^ 

Later    immigration    from    Scandinavia    came 


Il8  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

with  profession  of  Christianity  after  the  style 
carried  there  by  Romish  priests ;  and  while 
Malcolm  II.  was  still  upon  the  Scottish  throne 
Canute,  a  Christian  Dane,  was  reigning  in 
England. 

As  respects  religion,  the  component  parts 
of  the  new  kingdom  of  Scotland  were,  in  the 
main,  of  one  mind.  Christian  doctrine,  as  be- 
lieved by  the  Scots,  had  been  accepted  by 
the  Picts,  and  coincided  with  that  of  the  Cum- 
brian Britons.  Some  practices  and  elements 
of  government  had  been  copied  from  England 
by  Pictish  kings  and  enforced  upon  their  cler- 
gy. But  the  early  princes  of  the  united  king- 
dom sought  to  restore  agreement.  In  the  reign 
of  Constantine  II.  the  Church  of  the  Picts  was 
united  on  an  equal  footing  with  that  of  the 
Scots,  only  one  new  element  being  added — 
namely,  that  of  a  bishop  over  the  whole. 
That  bishop  seems  to  have  represented  not 
an  ecclesiastical  demand,  but  a  royal  idea.  It 
was  the  monarchical  principle  appended  to  the 
Church  rather  than  filling  any  place  created  by 
its  wants.  For  the  monastic  system  of  the 
Scottish  Church  continued  to  be  the  system 
of  the  united  Church.  The  bishop's  place  could 
therefore  be  only  a  higher  honor  than  any 
other  clergyman  in  the  kingdom  had  a  legal 
right  to  claim. 


NORTH  BRITAIN      | 

IMTHE 

TENTH  CENTURY    H 


"MORE  VIA 


.-Si.   Xr     - 


i9'<    ,■ 


'^-^M;<' 


•■:„(„-,i,-ctt  Spi-iuird    r„r  ihf    i;esh,,l.;i,a.    Hoard      „r  l%,l,li,:;:;„n   lit    I'lieo.  l.,„..har,tl  H-  S,>n  .  Ptiilu 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

MACBETH. 

THE  long-protracted  warfare  of  Scots  and  Sax- 
ons for  sole  dominion  between  the  Forth  and 
Tweed  was  decided  by  the  campaign  of  Malcolm 
II.  and  the  batde  of  Carham  in  favor  of  the  Scots. 
Cumbria,  dynastically  connected  with  Scotland, 
was  already  a  sub-kingdom  of  that  growing  pow- 
er. Her  king,  a  kinsman  of  Malcolm,  was  with 
him  in  the  batde,  and  was  there  slain  or  died 
soon  after.  His  successor,  Duncan,  grandson 
of  Malcolm,  sixteen  years  later  (1034)  inherit- 
ed also  the  crown  of  Scodand. 

In  this  newly-constituted  union  of  kingdoms 
Cumbria,  though  oldest  in  profession  of  Chris-* 
tianity,  and  when  the  rest  were  heathen  dis- 
dnguished  among  Christians  for  simplicity  of 
ordinances  and  government,  had  fallen  under 
great  depression.  Diminished  in  strength  by 
the  removal  of  mukitudes  of  her  people  Into 
Wales,  she  tacitly  submitted  to  a  dominion 
which  was  creeping  step  by  step  over  all. 

Duncan's  rieht  to  the  throne  of  Scotland  was 
through  his  mother,  a  daughter  of  jNIalcolm  II., 
for  that  king  had  no  male  heirs  ;   but  Malcolm 

no 


120  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

had  secured  it  for  himself  by  the  issue  of  war, 
in  which  he  had  defeated  and  slain  his  prede- 
cessor, Kenneth  IV. ;  and  now  there  was  still 
a  claimant  from  that  side,  who  stood  as  nearly 
related  to  Kenneth  as  Duncan  stood  to  Mal- 
colm. The  son  of  Kenneth  was  dead,  but  a 
daughter  of  that  son  was  living,  who  had  been 
married  to  the  mormaer  of  Moray,  and  after  his 
death  carried  her  claims,  with  the  guardianship 
of  her  son,  to  her  second  husband,  Macbeth, 
son  of  a  former  mormaer  of  Moray.  If  Dun- 
can was  the  son  of  a  daughter  of  the  late  king, 
Gruach,  wife  of  Macbeth,  was  the  daughter 
of  a  son  of  the  preceding  king.  As  respects 
nearness  of  relationship  they  were  on  precisely 
the  same  footing.  And  if  a  woman  might  not 
in  those  days  Avear  the  crown  herself,  she  might 
presume  to  transmit  the  right  to  her  husband 
as  truly  as  to  her  son.  Such  most  probably 
was  Gruach's  view  of  the  case.  Nor  could  she 
fail  to  regard  Malcolm  II.  as  an  usurper,  and 
the  occasion  at  least  of  her  grandfather's  death. 
He  certainly  had  grasped  for  himself  all  the 
profit  to  be  secured  from  it.  Lady  Macbeth, 
as  Shakespeare  calls  her,  viewed  herself  as  the 
heir  of  a  royal  inheritance  of  which  her  family 
had  been  unjusdy  and  by  violence  deprived. 
Her  descent,  moreover,  was  from  the  older 
branch  of  the  royal  family  of  Alpin.  But 
Duncan's    father,    Crinan,    abbot    of   Dunkeld, 


MACBETH.  121 

also  represented  the  mormaership  in  the  an- 
cient house  of  Athole,  whose  weight  proved  the 
greater  in  a  threefold  rivalry.  For,  to  com- 
plete the  story,  another  piece  of  genealogy  is 
needed :  Finlay,  the  father  of  Macbeth,  had 
been,  some  thirty  years  before,  mormaer  of 
Moray.  He  was  defeated  in  battle  by  Sigurd, 
the  Norwegian  jarl  of  Caithness  and  Suther- 
land. King  Malcolm  II.  was  pleased  with  the 
event,  and  gave  one  of  his  daughters  to  Sigurd 
in  marriage.  After  Sigurd's  death  his  son 
Thorfinn  was  confirmed  by  Malcolm  in  pos- 
session of  the  two  northern  counties.  Thor- 
finn, when  his  cousin  Duncan  came  to  the 
throne,  did  not  feel  disposed  to  submit  his  in- 
dependent territory  as  a  province  of  the  Scot- 
tish kinordom,  and  no  doubt  thought  that  as  a 

o  o 

grandson  of  the  late  king  and  the  son  of  a 
distinguished  soldier  he  had  as  good  a  right 
to  the  sovereignty  as  the  son  of  the  abbot. 
For  one  cause  or  the  other,  or  both,  he  refused 
the  submission  or  tribute  which  his  cousin  de- 
manded. Duncan  assumed  to  depose  him,  and 
appointed  Moddan  in  his  place,  sending  an 
army  to  enforce  the  substitution.  The  army 
was  worsted,  and  Moddan  betook  himself  to 
Duncan.  A  new  expedition  was  organized, 
which  issued  in  disaster  and  the  death  of 
Moddan. 

In    these    circumstances    Thorfinn    moved    a 


122  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

force  across  the  boundary  of  his  own  domains. 
Duncan  hastened  in  person  to  encounter  the 
insurrection.  But  again  his  forces  were  de- 
feated, and  the  rival  kinsman  pressed  on  his 
victorious  march  to  the  south. 

At  this  juncture  Macbeth,  who  was  probably 
commander  of  the  royal  army  then,  conceived 
the  project  of  securing  his  own  claim.  The 
son  of  Sigurd  was  his  hereditary  enemy,  but 
if  the  king  were  out  of  the  way  might  agree 
with  him  in  dividing  the  whole  territory  of 
North  Britain — Scottish  and  Scandinavian  both 
— between  them.  Duncan  was  murdered  some- 
where in  the  neighborhood  of  Elgin  on  the  14th 
of  August,  1040.  Soon  afterward  the  division 
of  the  country  took  place,  the  north  being  as- 
signed to  the  Norwegian  earl,  and  the  centre 
to  the  mormaer  of  Moray  w^ith  the  honors  of 
king  of  Scotland. 

The  abbot  of  Dunkeld  did  not  quietly  sub- 
mit to  the  fate  of  his  son.  Five  years  later  he 
fell  in  a  battle  fought  apparently  for  the  res- 
toration of  his  house. ^ 

But  the  murdered  king  was  destined  to 
transmit  the  contested  inheritance.  Duncan 
had  married  a  sister  of  Siward,  the  Danish 
earl  of  Northumberland,  and  with  that  uncle 
his  family  found  protection  after  his  death. 
His  children  were  then  young,  but  at  the  end 

^  Skene,  i.  404,  405,  407. 


MACBETH.  123 

of  fourteen  years  Malcolm,  the  oldest,  was  car- 
ried into  Scodand  by  Siward  at  the  head  of  a 
great  army  of  Saxons.  The  issue  of  war  put 
him  on  the  throne  of  Cumbria  and  Lothian. 
Macbeth  retired  northward,  and  sustained  him- 
self two  years  longer,  no  doubt  by  aid  of  Thor- 
finn.  In  1057,  Thorfinn  died.  Malcolm  renew- 
ed the  war  with  native  forces,  and  pursued  Mac- 
beth into  the  Highlands,  where  he  defeated  and 
slew  him  on  the  15th  of  August,  1057. 

Macbeth  reigned  seventeen  years,  and  is  not, 
by  the  old  records,  charged  with  injustice  in  ad- 
ministration of  the  government.  The  country 
is  said  to  have  enjoyed  prosperity  under  his 
rule.  To  the  Church  he  was  eminently  liberal, 
conferring  extensive  lands  upon  "  the  Culdees 
of  Lochleven,  from  motives  of  piety  and  for 
the  benefit  of  their  prayers."^  He  was  the  first 
of  Scottish  monarchs  to  offer  directly  his  ser- 
vices to  the  bishop  of  Rome.  There  is  some 
reason  to  believe  that  both  he  and  Thorfinn 
visited  Rome,  and  obtained  absolution  from 
their  sins  ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  Macbeth 
expended  money  liberally  among  the  Roman 
poor.  Nor  are  these  facts  incredible  of  the 
murderer  of  Duncan.  In  neither  earlier  nor 
later  times  has  the  Church  been  igrnorant  of 
conscience-money. 

^  Skene,  i.  406. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

MALCOLM  CANMORE. 

MALCOLM  III. — called  Canmore,  or  Great 
Head — son  of  the  murdered  Duncan,  suc- 
ceeded Macbeth  as  king  of  Scotland.  Early 
in  his  reign,  which  began  in  1057,  he  married 
the  widow  of  the  recently  deceased  Thorhnn, 
earl  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness.  The  defeat 
of  Macbeth,  and  seven  months  afterward  of  his 
stepson  Lulach,  had  reduced  the  protracted  re- 
sistance of  Moray,  and  thus  the  northern  part 
of  the  mainland  was  formally  connected  with 
the  Crown. 

Malcolm  III.  stands  in  a  clearer  historical 
light  than  any  of  his  predecessors.  Changes 
took  place  in  his  time  which  went  to  put  the 
kingdom  into  nearer  relations  with  the  general 
current  of  European  history.  The  Norman 
Conquest  of  England  in  1066  was  of  hardly 
less  importance  to  the  government  and  peo- 
ple of  Scotland  than  to  those  of  England,  and 
of  more  importance  to  the  Scottish  Church.  It 
imposed  the  feudal  system  upon  England,  and 
gave  occasion  to  its  partial  adoption  in  Scot- 
land, where  it  afterward  divided  the  kingdom 
12-1 


MALCOLM  CANMORE.  12$ 

with  the  old  national  patriarchy.  A  great 
change  was  also  made  in  the  material  of 
population  in  both  countries.  A  Norman  ele- 
ment was  added  to  that  of  England,  and  a  large 
Saxon,  and  eventually  a  Norman  one  also,  to 
that  of  the  south  of  Scotland.  In  the  former 
country  it  was  an  addition  of  conquerors,  who 
were  constituted  the  nobility  and  rulers  ;  in  the 
latter,  an  addition  of  refugees,  most  of  whom 
came  as  commoners  and  servants. 

From  the  severities  inflicted  by  the  Conquer- 
or multitudes  of  English  people,  some  of  high 
birth,  fled  to  the  northern  kingdom.  Among 
those  fugitives  came  the  Saxon  heir  of  England, 
Edgar  the  ^theling — that  is,  the  crown  prince 
— with  his  mother  and  two  sisters.  They  were 
kindly  received  by  King  Malcolm,  who  also 
aided  Edgar  in  attempts  to  retrieve  some  part 
of  his  fortunes.  But  a  campaign  made  into 
Northumberland,  and  carried  as  far  as  York,  re- 
sulted in  onlv  addinor  to  the  number  of  refugees, 
vast  multitudes  of  whom  followed  the  returnino- 
army.  They  were  distributed  throughout  the 
south  of  Scotland.  Rare  was  the  family  in 
which  English  slaves  were  not  to  be  found, 
many  of  them  sold  by  themselves  to  secure 
the  means  of  subsistence. 

Malcolm's  first  wife  died  young.  He  subse- 
quently married  Margaret,  sister  of  the  fugitive 
Saxon  prince.      Her  brother  he  also  protected 


126  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

and  provided  for  bountifully,  more  so  than  the 
weakling^  deserved.  He  never  succeeded  in 
pushing  his  raids  into  England  farther  than 
York,  nor  in  lessening  the  power  of  the  Con- 
queror, but  he  limited  the  northward  advance  of 
conquest.  The  territory  embraced  by  Northum- 
berland, Durham,  Cumberland  and  Westmore- 
land by  his  aid  successfully  resisted  the  establish- 
ment of  Norman  rule.  Malcolm  did  not  secure 
the  annexation  of  it  to  his  own  kino;dom,  but 
during  the  time  of  William  I.  he  prevented  the 
Normans  from  adding  it  to  theirs.  It  was 
ravaged  by  invasions  from  both  sides.  Pro- 
voked by  that  resistance,  William  in  1072 
broke  throuorh  the  debatable  land  and  brought 
the  Scottish  king  to  terms  of  peace,  and  forced 
him  to  give  his  son  Duncan  a  hostage  for  their 
observance.^  Edgar  also,  at  Malcolm's  advice, 
made  his  peace  with  William,  who  entertained 
him  at  his  court  and  gave  him  lands  in  Nor- 
mandy. 

Thus  was  the  conflict  settled  for  the  time. 
But  in  1 09 1,  William  the  Conqueror  died,  and 
his  successor,  William  Rufus,  expelled  Edgar 
from  his  estates.  The  ^thelinor  had  recourse 
to  his  royal  brother-in-law,^  who  once  more  led 
an  army  into  England  to  assert  his  cause. 

In  the  course  of  successive  campaigns  Mal- 
colm again  ravaged  Northumberland;  William 

1  Skene,  i.  424.  «  Ibid.,  428. 


MALCOLM  CANMORE.  12/ 

seized  the  lands  south  of  the  Solway  belonging 
to  the  king  of  Scotland  as  part  of  the  ancient 
British  kingdom  of  Strathclyde,  and  at  a  con- 
ference of  the  two  kings  at  Gloucester  treated 
the  Scottish  king  with  indignity.  Resenting 
the  insult,  Malcolm  withdrew,  and  brought 
another  army  into  Northumberland.  The 
campaign  ended  in  his  death  and  that  of 
his  son  Edward,  it  is  said  by  the  treachery 
of  Morel  of  Bamborough,  who,  under  pre- 
tence of  surrender,  lured  him  into  his  power, 
Nov.  13,  1093.  Queen  Margaret  died  upon 
receiving  the  tidings. 

The  reio^n  of  Malcolm  Canmore  is  one  of 
the  most  important  epochs  in  Scottish  history, 
covering  thirty-five  years,  within  which  the 
kingdom  was  extended  from  the  lower  Tweed 
and  the  Cheviot  mountains  and  the  Solway 
on  the  south  to  Caithness  on  the  north,  and 
over  all  the  Hebrides.^  And  that  chanore  in 
the  Church  was  commenced  which  eventuated 
in  its  displacement  before  the  Romish.  In  the 
latter  movement  the  principal  actor  was  Queen 
Margaret,  a  woman  of  high  intellectual  endow- 
ments and  earnest  piety,  with  a  degree  of  eccle- 
siastical learning  uncommon  among  her  sex  in 
that  day.  Her  thinking,  moulded  by  the  Rom- 
ish Church,  enabled  her  to  defend  it  before  the 
majority  of  men  who   admitted   its   traditional 

1  Skene,  i.  431-433- 


128  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

interpretation  of  Scripture.  It  had  been  her 
wish  to  enter  a  nunnery  and  spend  her  whole 
life  in  devotion  ;  and  hardly  was  she  persuaded 
to  forego  that  purpose  by  the  offer  of  a  throne, 
and,  of  what  must  have  weio^hed  more  in  the 
estimation  of  such  a  woman,  the  love  of  a 
brave,  true-hearted  and  generous  man.  Be- 
coming queen  of  Scotland,  she  took  under  her 
special  care  the  interests  of  religion.  The 
Saxon  princess,  from  the  nature  of  her  edu- 
cation, could  not  fail  to  condemn  many  things 
in  the  Scottish  Church,  however  they  might 
have  been  estimated  on  their  own  merits. 

Christianity  was  still  taught  in  Scotland, 
north  of  the  Clyde  and  Forth,  by  the  Church 
of  which  Columba  had  planted  the  seeds  in 
lona,  for  the  Culdees  in  Pictland  had  substan- 
tially maintained  the  succession.  But  it  had 
not  escaped  the  hands  of  the  innovator,  the 
ravages  of  war,  nor  the  effects  of  natural  de- 
cay  which  will  befall  any  Church  unquickened 
by  revivals  of  spirituality.  Changes  adopted 
from  the  Saxons  had  only  marred  the  devel- 
opment of  its  native  constitution.  x\s  far  as 
they  pertained  to  organization,  they  were  in- 
congruous elements  in  the  clan  system,  embar- 
rassing it  without  securing  any  proper  province 
for  themselves.  Territorial  distribution  of  dio- 
ceses and  parishes  was  quite  foreign  to  it.  Its 
priesthood  had  always  been  collegiate.     Epis- 


MALCOLM  CANMORE.  1 29 

eopacy  had  no  virtual  place  in  it,  and  could 
never  be  more  than  functional.  In  course  of 
time  it  dwindled  into  a  mere  representative 
bishop  for  the  kingdom,  and  that,  being  really 
unnecessary,  was  finally  abandoned.  The  bish- 
op of  St.  Andrews,  who  died  in  1093,  was  the 
last  of  that  line.  The  attempt  to  engraft  Ro- 
manism upon  the  Columban  Church  had  proved 
an  utter  failure. 

Frequent  internal  wars  and  the  devastation 
of  a  great  part  of  the  country  by  heathen  in- 
vaders had  destroyed  many  of  the  properties 
of  the  Church  and  crippled  others,  breaking 
down  or  displacing  the  clans  to  which  they 
pertained.  In  many  cases  "  the  lands  with 
the  ruined  buildings  fell  into  the  hands  of  lay- 
men, and  became  hereditary  in  their  families, 
until  at  last  nothing  was  left  but  the  mere  name 
of  abbacy  applied  to  the  lands,  and  of  abbot 
borne  by  the  secular  lord  for  the  time."^ 

From  such  causes  the  Scottish  Church  of 
the  eleventh  century  was  greatly  reduced  in 
efficiency,  and  from  some  parts  of  the  country 
removed  entirely.  The  Culdees  were  the  cler- 
gy, a  society  of  secular  priests,  who,  occupying 
the  churches  and  their  properties  not  otherwise 
appropriated,  discharged  all  public  religious  du- 
ties, maintaining  divine  service  and  providing 
spiritual  advisers  for  the  people.     Dr.  Reeves 

^  Skene,  ii.  365. 


I30  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

says  of  the  Kelede  of  Armagh  that  they  contin- 
ued to  be  the  officiating  clergy  of  the  churches 
there,  ''  and  by  degrees  grouped  themselves 
around  the  great  church,  where  they  became 
the  standing  ministers  of  the  cathedral.  They 
were  presided  over  by  a  prior,  and  numbered 
about  twelve  individuals."^  Of  the  same  na- 
ture was  their  place  in  the  Scottish  churches. 
And  well  was  it  with  those  which  enjoyed  the 
ministrations  of  Culdees.  Where  the  Colum- 
ban  clergy  had  been  expelled  in  war,  and  their 
places  usurped  by  laymen,  ministration  of  the 
gospel  must  have  ceased. 

On  some  points  of  doctrine,  on  the  manner 
of  administering  the  Eucharist  and  observing 
the  Lenten  fast,  in  the  ranks  of  the  ministry 
on  the  source  of  ecclesiastical  authority  and 
the  monastic  orders,  the  Scottish  Church  still 
differed  from  that  of  Rome.  Scripture  was 
held  to  be  the  sole  authority  in  faith ;  the  Cath- 
olic claimed  an  hereditary  authority  of  her  own 
— traditional  in  a  line  of  apostolic  bishops.  The 
time  of  observing  Easter  had,  from  the  eig^hth 
century,  been  conformed  to  the  Roman  ;  but  the 
Roman  mass  had  not  been  introduced,  and  the 
Scottish  Lent  was  a  continuous  fast.  In  their 
ministry  and  their  government  the  churches 
differed  still  more  widely. 

^  Dr.  Reeves  On  the  Ancient  Churches  of  Arviagh,  p.  21 ;  Skene,  ii. 
359- 


MALCOLM  CANMORE.  I3I 

The  Scottish  Church  in  its  constitution  stood 
entirely  apart  from  the  State.  Its  ministers 
were  supported  by  the  free  gifts  of  the  wor- 
shipers and  by  their  own  industry.  Nor  did 
they  claim  to  derive  their  sanction  from  any 
earthly  sovereign,  ecclesiastical  or  civil.  The 
king  might  be  their  friend  or  protector  or  ben- 
efactor; he  was  not  their  head.  The  bishop 
of  Rome  was  allowed  to  be  the  greatest  among 
bishops,  but  Scotland  was  no  province  of  his, 
and  from  some  of  his  practices  they  dissented. 
The  intermeddling  of  Saxon  monks  and  Pict- 
ish  kings  had  produced  great  confusion,  but 
had  not  substantially  altered  the  organization. 
In  the  eleventh  century  the  Scottish  Church 
still  retained  its  distinctive  features  as  inher- 
ited from  the  missionary  society  of  lona.  The 
Culdees  had  taken  the  place  of  the  Columban 
clergy,  or  the  Columban  clergy  had  gradually 
merged  into  Culdee  societies.  Their  occupa- 
tions among  themselves  were  still  chiefly  de- 
votion and  study  of  the  Bible  and  other  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  ministerial  duties,  in  accord- 
ance with  which  the  "  practice  of  clerical  wor- 
ship" seems  to  have  been  "deemed  their 
special  function."^  From  their  common  res- 
idence they  attended  to  the  instruction  and 
other  spiritual  wants  of  the  community  in 
which  they  were  planted. 

^  Reeves,  Ancient  Churches  of  Armagh,  p.  21. 


r32  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Their  societies  were  not  monastic  in  any 
sense  accepted  as  true  at  that  date.  The 
brethren  were  not  bound  by  vows  of  ceHbacy ; 
they  might  hold  property,  and  their  institution 
had  no  relation  to  the  papacy  by  sanction  or 
otherwise.  It  would  better  serve  the  purpose 
of  clearness,  and  avoid  the  risk  of  confound- 
ing two  classes  of  things  quite  different,  to 
call  them  colleges  (collegia),  for,  whatever  else 
they  were,  ecclesiastical  colleges  they  certainly 
were,  and  nothing  else  were  they  so  much. 
The  Scottish  Church  was  founded  upon  insti^uc- 
tion.  Theological  colleges  were  its  only  seats 
of  power.  Bishops  as  well  as  presbyters  were 
recognized,  but  presbyters  alone  were  the  work- 
ing clergy.  And  yet  it  was  not  a  Presbyterian 
Church.  It  had  no  parochial  distribution  of 
clergy  and  congregations,  nor  organic  class- 
ification of  them  into  presbyteries.  The  clan 
system,  though  greatly  disorganized,  was  still 
the  type  of  government.  Not  strong  at  best, 
as  compared  with  the  Catholic,  rather  like  the 
ganglionic  system  of  nerves  in  the  human  frame 
as  distinguished  from  the  spinal,  it  was  ill  suit- 
ed to  present  an  effective  resistance  to  a  com- 
pacted force  like  that  which  was  soon  to  be 
arrayed  against  it. 

That  ancient  Church,  we  must  not  forget, 
had  come  from  Ireland,  and  the  Irish  Church 
was  the  first  of  a  mission  from  the  old  British 


MALCOLM  CANMORE.  133 

Church,  which  at  one  time  extended  from  the 
Clyde  southward  all  the  way  through  the  Ro- 
man provinces,  and  still  in  the  eleventh  century 
held  its  ground  in  Cumbria  and  down  the  west 
of  South  Britain  through  Westmoreland,  Lan- 
cashire, Wales  and  Cornwall.  All  these  affil- 
iated churches  were  still  free,  retaining  their 
earlier  doctrines  and  their  ecclesiastical  inde- 
pendence. Though  not  in  all  respects  identi- 
cal, they  were  of  one  common  type  and  entire- 
ly harmonious  in  their  relations  with  each  other. 
The  Saxons,  who  then  possessed  the  east  and 
centre  of  England,  having  been  converted  by 
missionaries  sent  from  Pope  Gregory  I.,  were 
entirely  Roman  Catholic,  and  their  religion,  to- 
gether with  their  settlements,  prevailed  also  in 
the  district  immediately  to  the  north  of  the 
Tweed. 

Such  were  the  ecclesiastical  relations  of  the 
British  Isles  when  the  Celtic  king  of  Scotland 
married  a  Saxon  princess. 


BOOK  SECOND. 


PERIOD   OF  PAPAL  RULE 


INTRODUCTION  OF  ROMANISM. 


CHAPTER    I. 

57:  MARGARET  THE    QUEEN. 

THE  religious  condition  of  her  husband's 
kingdom  became  to  Queen  Margaret  a 
matter  of  great  concern.  In  her  eyes  the  doc- 
trines taught  and  the  practices  observed  were 
heretical.  It  was  her  wish  to  abolish  them  and 
in  their  place  to  establish  those  of  Rome.  The 
king  complied.  At  her  instance  councils  of 
the  Scottish  clergy  were  called,  In  one  at  least 
of  which  she  appeared  in  person  and  main- 
tained her  positions  in  an  oral  address.  "  Her 
biographer  tells  us  that  '  at  the  principal  coun- 
cil thus  held  she,  with  a  few  of  her  own  eccle- 
siastics, contended  for  three  days  with  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God, 
against  the  supporters  of  those  strange  cus- 
toms ;  while  her  husband,  who  was  equally  well 
acquainted  with  the  Anglic  language  and  with 
his  native  Gaelic,  acted  as  interpreter.'  "  ^ 
In  the  annual  commemoration  of  the  Lord's 

^  Skene,  ii.  346,  from  Turgot. 


137 


138  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

passion  the  various  parts  had  been  gradually 
shaped  in  a  long  course  of  time.  The  process 
of  growth  was  not  the  same  in  all  churches. 
Differences  existed  touching  the  order  of  the 
Easter  observances,  the  date  for  beginning 
them  and  the  length  of  the  preceding  fast, 
which  varied  greatly  from  time  to  time,  until 
finally  fixed  to  the  sacred  number  of  forty 
days.  During  the  latter  centuries  of  that  pro- 
longed growth  and  controversy  the  Scottish 
Church,  cut  off  from  communication  with  those 
on  the  Continent,  adhered  to  the  style  of  ob- 
servance which  prevailed  in  the  British  churches 
before  the  Romans  withdrew.  And  the  British 
churches  then  were  still  marked  by  features  of 
the  third  century.  Within  the  long  interval 
until  the  eleventh  century  the  Roman  Church 
had  settled  many  questions  and  adopted  many 
practices  unknown,  or  imperfectly  known,  or 
disapproved  of,  by  the  theologians  of  the  far 
West.  Among  other  things,  the  controversy 
of  Easter  had  been  determined  by  adoption  of 
the  Romish  rule.  And  in  the  main  the  Scot- 
tish Church  had  conformed,  but  not  perfectly. 
Now,  so  long  had  that  rule  been  observed  as 
to  give  the  general  impression  among  Roman 
Catholics  that  it  had  existed  from  the  beginning. 
The  multitude  had  lost  the  memory  of  contro- 
versy on  the  subject.  Fully  under  that  convic- 
tion, the  pious  queen  set  to  work  to  bring  the 


ST.   MARGARET   THE    QUEEN.  1 39 

Scottish  Church  into  hne  with  the  Roman  Cath- 
oHc  as  a  matter  indispensable  to  salvation. 

For  the  fast  of  precisely  forty  days  she  ar- 
gued Christ's  example  and  the  practice  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  The  Scottish  clergy  did  not 
reject  either,  but  said  that  they  complied  cor- 
rectly with  Scripture.  But  the  queen  found 
fault  that  they  counted  in  the  Sundays,  and  the 
Catholic  Church  never  fasted  on  Sunday.  If 
the  Scots  would  subtract  the  six  Sundays,  as 
they  ought,  they  would  find  that  the  Lenten 
term  did  not  amount  to  forty  days.  So  the 
queen  was  right  by  Roman  Catholic  rule.  But 
if  the  Lord's  forty  days'  fast  were  the  law,  the 
Scots  were  right,  for  his  was  a  continuous  fast, 
without  excepting  Sabbaths. 

Against  their  refraining  from  communion 
upon  the  specially  solemn  occasion  of  Easter 
Day,  lest  they  should  eat  and  drink  judgment 
to  themselves,  the  queen  reasoned  scripturally, 
but  assumed  also  the  erroneous  eround  that 
the  communicant  was  prepared,  having  been 
washed  from  the  stains  of  his  sins  by  the 
preceding  long  fast  and  its  duties. 

A  third  point  was  the  mass,  which  the  Scots 
were  charged  with  celebrating  in  a  barbarous 
manner.  No  description  is  given  of  what  is 
thus  called  "  barbarous."  But  nothing  unscrip- 
tural  is  necessarily  understood  in  it.  For  the 
same  term  is  applied  by  Roman  Catholics  of 


140  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  present  day  to  the  manner  of  observing  the 
Lord's  Supper  In  all  Protestant  churches.  The 
Latin  word  barbariis  classically  signifies  only 
that  a  thing  is  neither  Greek  nor  Latin.  The 
sacrament  was  ordered  to  be  celebrated  after 
the  Romish  rite,  with  acceptance  of  the  ele- 
ments as  changed  into  the  real  body  and 
blood  of  the  Lord. 

It  seems  to  have  been  customary  in  the  Cel- 
tic churches  of  early  times,  in  Ireland  as  well  as 
Scotland,  to  keep  Saturday,  the  Jewish  Sabbath, 
as  a  day  of  rest  from  labor,  and  Sunday,  com- 
memorative of  the  Lord's  resurrection,  as  one 
of  rejoicing,  with  exercises  of  public  worship. 
In  that  case  they  obeyed  the  fourth  command- 
ment literally  upon  the  seventh  day  of  the  week 
— the  day  on  which  the  Lord  lay  in  the  grave — 
and  did  not  understand  the  precept  about  rest- 
ing from  labor  to  apply  to  the  day  of  rejoicing 
over  his  resurrection.  On  the  latter,  people  did 
not  feel  under  obligation  to  refrain  from  any  of 
their  ordinary  occupations  consistent  with  their 
attending  upon  public  worship.  The  queen  in- 
sisted upon  the  single  and  strict  observance  of 
the  Lord's  Day.  People  and  clergy  alike  sub- 
mitted, but  without  entirely  giving  up  their  rev- 
erence for  Saturday,  which  subsequently  sank 
into  a  half-holy  day  preparatory  for  Sunday. 

A  practice  which  to  some  extent  prevailed 
without  rebuke  of  the  Church,  supporting  itself 


ST.    MARGARET   THE    QUEEN.  I4I 

upon  Hebrew  example,  whereby  it  was  not  un- 
usual for  a  man  to  marry  a  deceased  brother's 
widow  or  a  widowed  stepmother,  was  also,  at 
the  instance  of  the  queen,  censured  and  for- 
bidden. 

Among  the  changes  introduced  by  the  pious 
queen,  it  is  remarkable  that  priestly  celibacy  was 
not  included,  nor  the  rule  of  poverty  enforced 
upon  the  inmates  of  the  Church  colleges.  That 
they  were  not  has  been  conjecturally  imputed 
to  the  priestly  descent  of  her  husband  or  the 
ecclesiastical  position  of  her  son,  still  a  minor. 
It  may  have  been  so.  But  from  what  is  told  of 
Margaret's  character  it  is  not  probable  that  her 
censure  would  have  been  withheld  from  the 
breach  of  a  solemn  vow.  More  likely,  she 
knew  that  those  vows  were  not  concerned  in 
the  case,  and  that  the  government  was  not  yet 
prepared  for  such  a  revolution  as  the  attempt 
to  institute  them  would  create. 

Her  husband  sustained  the  queen  on  those 
points,  and  added  the  weight  of  his  royal  sanc- 
tion to  the  consent  obtained  from  the  councils. 
How  far  the  acquiescence  of  the  clergy  became 
practical,  and  how  far  the  changes  were  accept- 
ed into  the  real  faith  of  the  people,  we  cannot 
say.  But  it  is  w^orth  remarking  that  the  Saxon 
party  of  the  court  w^as  intensely  hated  by  the 
Celtic  population,  as  appeared  immediately  upon 
Malcolm's  death  in  the  wars  to  exclude  Mar- 


142  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

garet's  sons  from  the  throne ;  that  the  Saxon 
queen,  with  all  her  excellence,  was  not  popular 
among  the  Scots  ;  that  in  the  high  places  of  the 
subsequently-introduced  hierarchy  Scottish  ec- 
clesiastics had  little  share ;  and  that  long  after- 
ward, when  the  Scottish  people  once  more  took 
the  regulation  of  their  Church  into  their  own 
hands,  they  rejected  all  the  changes  made  by 
Margaret  and  her  sons,  except  those  touching 
marriage  and  the  Lord's  Day. 

When  her  proposed  reforms  were  accepted 
many  Scottish  institutions  experienced  great 
favor  at  the  hands  of  the  queen.  Several 
ecclesiastical  buildings,  by  her  influence  with 
the  king,  were  erected  or  repaired.  lona, 
after  the  Hebrides  had  been  restored  to 
Scotland,  enjoyed  her  patronage.  Some  of 
the  houses,  repeatedly  subjected  to  plunder 
and  latterly  suffering  from  neglect,  were  re- 
stored and  provided  for.  The  king  and 
queen,  and  the  bishop  of  St.  Andrews  in  the 
same  spirit,  also  enlarged  the  endowments  of 
"  the  hermit  Keledei  on  the  island  of  Lochleven, 
living  there  in  the  school  of  all  virtues  devout- 
ly and  honorably."  Solitary  anchorets  were  ob- 
jects of  her  highest  veneration.  And  as  they 
would  accept  no  donation  at  her  hands,  she  hon- 
ored them  by  complying  with  their  religious 
wishes  and  admonitions.  Crucifixes  and  other 
objects  used  in  Romish  worship  were  introduced 


ST.  MARGARET   THE    QUEEN.  1 43 

into  the  churches  by  her  example,  and  in  some 
cases,  as  in  those  of  Dunfermhne  and  St.  An- 
drews, by  her  donation/  Every  encouragement 
was  given  to  the  practice  of  pilgrimage  to  holy 
shrines.  Houses  were  erected  and  servants 
paid  to  wait  in  them  for  the  accommodation  of 
pilgrims  to  St.  Andrews. 

Oueen  Margaret  was  the  first  amono-  the 
sovereigns  of  Scotland  to  interfere  with  spir- 
itual matters  in  dictating  faith  and  forms  of 
worship.  Rome,  in  whose  interest  her  work 
was  done,  recognized  the  service  and  rewarded 
it  with  the  honors  of  canonization.  A  learned 
ecclesiastic  of  that  connection  composed  a  glow- 
ing biographical  eulogy  of  the  royal  saint,  in 
which  her  good  works  are  made  to  appear,  as 
Alban  Butler  says,  "  more  wonderful  than  her 
miracles,"  with  which  she  was  also  adorned. 
She  died  upon  receiving  the  tidings  of  her 
husband's  death,  and  was  buried  at  Dunferm- 
line, where  the  king's  body,  when  brought  home, 
was  also  laid. 

1  Skene,  ii.  345--353- 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  SONS   OF  ST.  MARGARET. 

THE  long  and  prosperous  reign  of  Malcolm 
Canmore  closed  in  gloom.  In  the  same 
year  the  Western  Isles  were  again  ceded  to 
Norway.  The  Scots,  who  had  long  beheld  with 
jealousy  the  increasing  influence  of  Saxons  at 
the  court  of  their  king,  and  the  enforcing  of 
Saxon  opinions  upon  themselves,  with  good 
reason  apprehending  the  risk  of  losing  all 
authority  in  their  native  land,  immediately 
upon  the  death  of  Queen  Margaret  rose  in 
arms  to  set  Donald  Bane,  the  brother  of  Mal- 
colm, on  the  throne,  as  being  one  of  their  own 
race,  in  opposition  to  any  of  the  sons  of  the 
Saxon  queen.  The  rising  was  successful. 
The  Saxons  were  expelled,  and  Donald  Bane 
set  up  as  king,  and  with  such  haste  that  the 
deceased  queen  was  carried  from  Edinburgh 
Castle  to  her  burial  through  armed  bands  by 
stealth,  under  cover  of  early  dawn  and  of  a 
dense  morning  mist. 

Donald  reigned  six  months,  when  Duncan,  the 
oldest  son  of  Malcolm  by  his  first  wife,  asserted 

144 


THE   SONS   OF  ST.   MARGARET.  I45 

his  claim,  which  was  regarded  with  more  favor 
by  the  people  of  Lothian  and  Cumbria.  Dun- 
can had  been  a  hostage  at  the  English  court 
from  his  childhood,  but  now,  with  permission  of 
King  William  II.,  and  professing  the  fealty  de- 
manded, he  marched  to  the  north  at  the  head 
of  a  force  collected  among  Saxons  and  Nor- 
mans, dethroned  his  uncle  and  took  his  place. 

But  English  dependency  in  any  degree  was 
revolting  to  the  Scots.  At  the  end  of  six 
months  their  leaders  banded  together  against 
Duncan  and  slew  him,  and  again  set  up  his 
uncle.  A  compromise  was  made  with  a  view 
to  unite  the  two  parties,  whereby  Donald  ac- 
cepted as  his  colleague  Edmund,  one  of  the 
sons  of  Queen  Margaret,  w^ho  had  taken  part 
in  the  plot  against  Duncan.  Alban  or  Scotia — 
that  is,  Scotland  proper — at  that  time  was  the 
country  between  the  Forth  and  Spey.  Lothian, 
with  its  Saxon  population,  and  Cumbria,  the  old 
kingdom  of  Strathclyde,  were  recently-annexed 
dependencies.  In  Lothian  the  dominion  of  a 
son  of  their  much-admired  queen  was  gladly 
accepted,  while  Donald  was  the  choice  of  his 
Celtic  countrymen. 

To  neither  party  perhaps  was  that  divided 
rule  entirely  satisfactory.  After  about  three 
years  Edgar  yEtheling,  with  an  English  force, 
carried  his  nephew  Edgar,  another  son  of  Mal- 
colm and  Margaret,  into  Scotland.  In  a  hard- 
10 


146  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

fought  battle  he  defeated  Donald,  took  Edmund 
prisoner,  and,  having  made  Edgar  king,  return- 
ed to  England.  Edmund  was  doomed  to  per- 
petual imprisonment,  and  Donald,  after  two 
years,  falling  into  Edgar's  hands,  was  blinded 
and  consigned  to  the  same  fate. 

The  kingdom  of  Malcolm  Canmore  was  again 
united  as  to  the  mainland.  Norway  held  do- 
minion in  the  isles. 

Edgar's  reign  extended  from  1097  to  1107. 
It  was  uninterrupted  by  wars  or  party  broils. 
When  Magnus  Barefoot,  king  of  Norway,  ap- 
peared a  second  time  in  the  western  seas,  Ed- 
gar renewed  to  him  the  cession  of  the  islands 
which  his  father  had  made.  In  his  third  year 
(i  100)  his  sister  Matilda  was  married  to  Henry 
I.,  king  of  England — an  event  of  more  import- 
ance to  both  countries  than  many  expensive 
and  bloody  wars.  By  the  Saxon  population 
Matilda  was  regarded  as  one  of  themselves, 
a  daughter  of  their  own  royal  line.  Her  edu- 
cation had  been  almost  entirely  English.  Her 
marriage  went  far  to  reconcile  them  to  their 
new  masters.  Once  more  their  race  had  an 
interest  on  the  throne ;  the  daughter  of  their 
princess  Margaret  was  now  queen  of  England. 
The  Norman  king  strengthened  his  own  hand 
by  a  step  which  went  to  unite  the  conquered 
with  the  conquerors,  and  to  create  some  check 
thereby    upon    his    arrogant    Norman    barons ; 


THE   SONS    OF  ST.   MARGARET.  1 4/ 

and,  added  to  other  causes,  It  contributed,  for 
one  generation  at  least,  to  more  friendly  rela- 
tions with  Scodand.  Through  Matilda,  by  the 
marriage  of  her  daughter  with  Geoffrey  of 
Anjou,  the  powerful  dynasty  of  the  Plantage- 
nets  obtained  their  right  to  the  English  crown. 

Upon  Edgar's  death  his  brother  Alexander 
succeeded  him,  while  David,  a  younger  brother, 
was  constituted,  by  Edgar's  request,  ruler  of 
Cumbria,  with  the  tide  of  earl/  In  the  begin- 
ning of  Alexander's  reign  another  uprising  of 
the  Celtic  party  took  place.  But  their  army 
was  pursued  into  the  north,  and  finally  defeat- 
ed and  dispersed  beyond  the  Spey."  When 
Alexander  died  in  1 1 24,  David  became  king 
of  both  the  north  and  south  of  Scotland,  retain- 
ing the  earldom  of  Northampton,  which  he  had 
received  with  his  wife,  and  other  estates  in 
England.^  Within  the  period  covered  by  these 
three  reigns,  from  1097  to  11 53,  the  religious 
revolution  begun  by  Queen  Margaret  was 
completed,  and  the  kingdom  subjected  to  a 
feudal  government.* 

David,  while  a  youth,  had  followed  his  sister 
Matilda  into  England,  upon  her  marriage  with 
King  Henry.  Her  deep  religious  feeling  seems 
to  have  had  much  to  do*  in  the  formation  of  his 
character.      During  many  years'   residence  at 

^  Skene,  i.  446.  2  jbid.,    452. 

»  Ibid.,  444-458-  *  Ibid.,  433-457- 


14^  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  English  court  he  was  trained,  *'  with  the 
young  Norman  barons,  in  all  the  feudal  usages, 
so  as  to  become,  by  education  and  association 
with  the  young  English  nobility,  imbued  with 
feudal  ideas  and  surrounded  by  Norman  influ- 
ences." 

To  the  Celtic  race  that  was  far  from  agree- 
able. But  another  element  of  population  had 
begun  to  enter  Scotland,  which,  without  the  re- 
ligious devotion  of  the  Saxon,  proved  of  more 
regulative  effect  in  the  government.  The  Nor- 
man friends  of  his  youth  were  not  forgotten  by 
David  when  he  came  to  power  in  his  native 
land.  Many  of  them  were  introduced  to  places 
of  rank  and  emolument  in  his  earldom  and 
afterward  in  his  kingdom.  By  marriage  and 
otherwise  he  was  himself  a  wealthy  English 
nobleman.  Through  these  means  many  Nor- 
man families  were  added  to  the  higher  ranks  in 
Scotland,  bringing  with  them  their  ideas  of  feu- 
dal distinctions,  rights  and  privileges.  Thus 
did  the  Somervilles,  Lindsays,  Bruces,  Comyns, 
Avenels,  Ballols  and  odiers  receive  their  ear- 
liest settlements  In  the  northern  kingdom.  It 
was  as  friends  or  guests  of  the  king  that  they 
came.  In  some  quarters  they  were  endowed 
with  large  estates,  as  'Robert  Avenel  in  Esk- 
dale  and  Robert  Bruce  in  Annandale,  and  oth- 
ers elsewhere. 

When    David    had    been    six    years    on    the 


THE   SONS   OF  ST.   MARGARET.  1 49 

throne  an  attempt  to  repel  the  foreign  intru- 
sion was  made  from  the  north,  headed  by  An- 
gus, a  descendant  of  Lady  Macbeth,  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  ancient  mormaers  of  Moray, 
together  with  Malcolm,  a  natural  son  of  the 
late  kine  Alexander.  In  the  reduction  of  that 
rebellion  the  whole  territory  of  Moray  was 
taken  into  possession  of  the  king.  But  the 
discontent  was  not  allayed,  nor  did  it  cease  to 
break  forth  in  successive  insurrections  for  a 
hundred  years. 


CHAPTER    III. 

INTRODUCTION  OF  THE   ROMISH  CHURCH  GOVERN- 
MENT 

QUEEN  MARGARETS  changes  in  Ihe 
Scottish  Church  pertained  to  doctrine 
and  observances ;  all  the  rest  of  the  revolu- 
tion was  the  work  of  her  sons,  Edgar,  Alex- 
ander and  David. 

In  the  year  1093  ^^  sole  bishop  of  Scotia 
died.  The  kingdom  was  left  without  a  bishop 
fourteen  years,  until  the  death  of  King  Edgar 
— a  defect  in  the  eye  of  the  monarchy,  but  not 
intrinsically  in  the  national  church  system.  It 
was  not  the  intention  of  the  monarchy  now  to 
continue  that  system. 

In  the  Scottish  Church  all  right  to  demand 
the  attention  and  compliance  of  men  was,  from 
the  first,  treasured  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  in 
the  duties  of  making  their  teaching  known  to 
the  people,  and  in  keeping  their  ordinances  be- 
fore the  public  mind.  That  Church  was  now, 
without  discussion  and  by  royal  will  alone,  to 
be  set  aside  for  one  which  claimed  a  right  to 
command  obedience  and  belief  by  virtue  of 
divine  authority  resident  in  her  priesthood. 

150 


THE   ROMISH  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT.  I5I 

Establishment  of  the  CathoHc  system  was 
commenced  by  Alexander,  and,  as  far  as  re- 
spects the  mainland,  carried  forward  almost  to 
completeness  by  his  brother  and  successor,  Da- 
vid. The  method  generally  pursued  w^as  that 
of  reviving  old  bishoprics,  British,  Scottish,  Pict- 
ish,  not  upon  the  old  clan  method,  nor  upon  any 
compromise  with  it,  nor  as  having  any  relation 
to  it,  but  upon  the  simple  parochial  and  dio- 
cesan plan.  All  the  territory  of  the  kingdom 
was  to  be  divided  into  dioceses,  and  those  sub- 
divided into  parishes.  Each  diocese  w^as  to 
have  one  bishop — no  longer  a  mere  function- 
ary, but  an  actual  ruler — and  every  parish  Its 
own  priest.  The  tithes  from  the  parishes 
w^ere  to  sustain  all. 

Various  predispositions  of  the  old  Church, 
into  the  details  of  which  w^e  cannot  enter,  facil- 
itated these  new  divisions.  Old  Scottish  ab- 
bacies could  be  changed  into  bishoprics  by 
substituting  a  bishop  for  the  abbot.  Other 
members  of  the  fraternity,  where  willing  or 
desirable,  could  form  the  chapter  of  the  dio- 
cese, or  they  could  minister  In  parishes  sepa- 
rately, as  they  had  done  hitherto  collectively,  for 
the  clan  or  for  a  group  of  neighboring  churches. 
Where  such  a  transformation  was  not  accept- 
able the  old  ministry  was  entirely  superseded. 

Consultation  with  the  existing  clergy  was 
no   part  of  the   plan.      No   synod   was   called, 


152  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

although  it  was  an  age  In  which  synods  were 
common.  The  ecclesiastical  transfer  of  a  whole 
nation  was  not  trusted  to  ecclesiastical  author- 
ity, but  conducted  by  the  civil  arm  alone. 

The  three  Celtic  kingdoms  were  now  united 
in  one,  together  with  a  Saxon  district.  With 
the  last  there  was  no  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
Romanism.  Of  the  Celtic  kingdoms,  one  was 
that  of  Strathclyde,  now  called  Cumbria;  an- 
other was  that  of  the  Picts ;  and  the  third,  that 
of  the  Scots,  latterly  the  ruling  race.  Each 
of  these  had  at  some  time  acknowledged  one 
bishop.  But  the  see  of  Cumbria  at  Glasgow 
and  that  of  Abernethy  had  long  ago  been  dis- 
continued. The  latter,  when  the  Scots  became 
masters  in  the  north,  had  to  part  with  its  hon- 
ors to  Dunkeld,  and  Dunkeld,  in  the  further 
progress  of  the  same  people,  had  to  yield  to 
St.  Andrews.  The  Scottish  bishopric  at  St. 
Andrews  had  been  vacant  since  the  death  of 
Malcolm  Canmore.  At  the  accession  of  Edgar 
there  was  no  bishop  in  any  of  those  united 
kingdoms.  As  that  rank  of  the  ministry, 
though  recognized  among  them,  was  not  ne- 
cessary to  the  completeness  of  their  ecclesias- 
tical order,  it  was  easily  allowed  to  fall  into  dis- 
use when  no  special  effort  was  put  forth  to  keep 
it  in  place.  Edgar  did  not  attempt  to  supply 
the  lack — "  did  not  attempt  to  introduce  a  paro- 
chial church   north  of   the   Forth,"  but  limited 


THE   ROMISH  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT.  I  53 

his  ecclesiastical  enterprise  to  the  Saxon  de- 
pendency between  the  Forth  and  Tweed. ^  In 
that  quarter  he  refounded  the  monastery  of 
Coldingham  and  established  some  churches  on 
the  parochial  plan.  But  when  his  brothers — 
Alexander  as  king  to  the  north  of  the  great 
firths,  and  David  as  earl  in  the  south — succeed- 
ed him,  their  mother's  policy  of  assimilating  the 
Church  in  their  native  land  to  that  of  Rome 
was  at  once  resumed. 

Alexander  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign  (i  107) 
filled  the  vacancy  in  St.  Andrews  by  appoint- 
ing Turgot,  prior  of  Durham,  his  mother's  con- 
fessor and  biographer,  to  the  bishopric,  and  cre- 
ated two  new  sees,  one  for  Moray  and  the 
other  for  Dunkeld.  Moray  was  an  earldom 
scarcely  yet  assured  to  the  Scottish  crown  from 
its  old  hostility,  continued  in  the  family  of  Mac- 
beth. The  new  ecclesiastical  establishment, 
when  in  time  it  took  effect,  went  to  strengthen 
the  ties  of  allegiance.  Dunkeld  was  the  seat 
of  an  old  church  rebuilt  by  Kenneth  MacAl- 
pine,  founder  of  the  Scottish  dominion  over 
the  Picts.  It  was  a  Columbite  institution,  and 
for  a  time  the  head  of  Scottish  ecclesiasticism 
in  the  land  of  the  Picts.  With  the  rise  of  St. 
Andrews  it  lost  that  place  of  honor.  Still,  it 
occupied  a  rank  of  some  distinction  in  having 
given    the   reigning  dynasty   to   the    kingdom. 

^  Skene,  ii.  368. 


154  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND, 

It  was  now  transformed  Into  a  Romish  bishop- 
ric by  substituting  a  bishop  for  the  Cohimblte 
superior.  The  ample  territories  still  In  Its  pos- 
session were  such  as  to  endow  the  new  foun- 
dation with  consistent  dignity  and  complete- 
ness. 

Upon  St.  Andrews,  however,  the  higher  honor 
was  conferred,  and  to  Its  bishop  were  "  the  fate 
and  fortunes  of  the  Culdee  establishments " 
throughout  the  kingdom  committed.^  Most 
clearly,  from  the  beginning  of  that  reign,  was 
it  the  royal  intention  to  abolish  the  Scottish 
Church  to  make  place  for  the  Romish. 

Meanwhile,  during  the  whole  of  Alexander's 
reign  in  the  north,  David  was  pursuing  the  same 
policy  In  the  southern  dependencies  "over  which 
he  ruled  as  earl."  About  1115  he  restored  the 
diocese  of  Glasgow,  and  directed  an  Inquiry  to 
be  made  "  by  the  elders  and  wise  men  of  Cum- 
bria into  the  lands  and  churches  which  formerly 
belonged  to  the  see."  Upon  the  information 
thus  obtained  he  reconstructed  the  bishopric, 
in  1 1 20  or  1 121,  to  include  all  the  territory  of 
Cumbria  then  belonging  to  Scodand  and  as  far 
as  the  Tweed.  Lothian  was  chiefly  Saxon,  both 
by  blood  and  religion,  and  was  assigned  to  St. 
Andrews.  Galloway,  though  belonging  to  Scot- 
land, was  under  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction 
of  York. 

^  Skene,  ii.  372. 


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THE   ROMISH  CHURCH   GOVERNMENT.  1 55 

David,  after  he  had  become  king  of  the  whole 
country,  continued  to  prosecute  his  work  for  the 
Church  with  increasing  zeal  until  it  amounted  to 
a  war  of  extermination  against  everything  be- 
longing to  the  native  establishment.  The  dis- 
jointed style  of  government  in  the  Scottish 
Church,  now  enfeebled  by  internal  decay,  was 
unable  to  present  an  effective  resistance  to 
the  intrusion  of  such  a  compacted  ecclesiasti- 
cal host,  marched  in  upon  it  with  such  steady 
persistence. 

In  King  David's  long  reign  of  nearly  thirty 
years  the  diocesan  system  was  completely  es- 
tablished over  the  whole  kingdom,  with  parish 
boundaries  prescribed  for  separate  presbyters 
or  vicars  in  their  respective  cures. 

In  constructine  the  dioceses  all  native  insti- 
tutions  were  seized  and  turned  to  the  service 
of  the  intruder.  Glasgow,  St.  Andrews,  Dun- 
keld  and  Moray. were  already  created  or  recon- 
structed when  David  began  to  reign — all  except 
Moray  being  the  conversion,  each  one,  of  the 
single  bishopric  of  a  formerly  independent  king- 
dom. In  a  few  years  more  the  rest  of  the  work 
was  done.  A  bishop  of  Ross  between  1 128  and 
1 1 30  held  jurisdiction  over  the  breadth  of  the 
mainland  south  of  Sutherland,  sustained  by  the 
transfer  of  an  ancient  Columban  college  with 
its  revenues.^     The  diocese  of  the  two  north- 

1  Skene,  ii.  377,  378. 


156  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

ern  counties,  Caithness  and  Sutherland,  was 
constituted  in  the  early  part  of  the  same 
reign,  though  perhaps  not  fully  established 
until  the  end  of  it.  And  by  appropriation  of 
several  preceding  institutions  was  that  of  Aber- 
deen created.  Brechin  and  Dunblane  were  con- 
structed out  of  fragments  Into  which  the  old 
Pictish  bishopric  of  Abernethy  had  been  bro- 
ken down. 

The  example  of  King  David  was,  in  this  re- 
spect, followed  by  his  powerful  but  refractory 
noble,  Fergus,  lord  of  Galloway,  and  his  rival, 
Olaus  (Aulay),  Norwegian  king  of  the  isles. 
By  the  former  the  diocese  of  Galloway  was 
reconstituted,  subject  to  the  archbishop  of 
York ;  and  by  the  latter,  that  of  the  Sudreys 
(Sodor)  and  Man  about  the  year  1 1 34.  By 
Sudreys  was  meant  the  Hebrides,  as  lying 
south  from  the  Orkney  and  Shetland  groups. 
The  Isle  of  Man  was  the  residence  of  the 
Norse  king  of  the  isles. 

At  the  death  of  David,  in  11 53,  the  trans- 
formation was  complete.  Nine  episcopal  sees 
comprehended  the  whole  territory  of  the  king- 
dom to  be  thus  disposed  of — namely,  St.  An- 
drews, Glasgow,  Dunkeld,  Dunblane,  Brechin, 
Aberdeen,  Moray,  Ross  and  Caithness.  The 
Shetland  and  Orkney  Isles,  being  under  Nor- 
wegian rule,  were  not  brought  Into  the  system 
until  the  next  century,  and  the  diocese  of  Argyll, 


THE    ROMISH   CHURCH   GOVERNMENT.  1 5/ 

or  Lismore,  was  not  separated  from  that  of 
Dunkeld  until  1222/  Whithorn  was  still  ec- 
clesiastically connected  with  York.  Twelve 
dioceses  covered  the  utmost  extent  that  Scot- 
land ever  reached. 

Upon  the  whole,  as  many  of  the  Scottish 
clergy  as  submitted  were  assigned  to  subor- 
dinate places,  generally  perhaps  as  priests  or 
curates  to  minister  in  the  parishes.  The  native 
monastic  system  being  abolished,  the  superin- 
tendence and  working  of  the  new  system  was 
put  into  the  hands  of  aliens.  It  was  doubtless 
perceived  that  the  foreign  Church  could  be  best 
managed  by  foreigners,  at  least  until  the  nation 
should  be  reconciled  to  it. 

Of  course  the  service  instituted  for  the  dio- 
ceses, as  well  as  the  cathedral  constitution,  was 
foreign.  Both  were,  for  the  most  part,  copied 
from  England.  "  Glasgow  and  Dunkeld  fol- 
lowed the  model  of  Salisbury ;  Moray,  Aber- 
deen and  Caithness  that  of  Lincoln.  The  Brevi- 
ary and  Missal  of  Salisbury  formed  the  ritual  of 
all  the  Scottish  dioceses."  - 

In  the  establishment  of  prelacy  after  the  Eng- 
lish model  it  followed  that  the  English  metropol- 
itans claimed  jurisdiction  over  the  bishops  in 
Scotland.  But  to  admit  that  would  have  been 
to  surrender  the  national  independence,  and  on 

1  Skene,  ii.  396,  397  ;  St.  Giles  Led.,  p.  73. 

2  Joseph  Robertson,  Quarterly  Rev.,  June,  1840. 


158  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  part  of  the  king  the  control  of  what  he  had 
himself  created.  One  step  more  must  be  taken. 
A  Scottish  primacy  must  be  constituted.  The 
necessity  was  early  perceived,  and  action  taken 
in  regard  to  it  by  Alexander  I.,  who  turned  the 
revenues  of  St.  Andrews  into  an  endowment 
for  the  new  metropolitanate.  Turgot,  the  first 
incumbent,  was  a  Saxon,  who  had  been  a  monk 
and  prior  of  St.  Cuthbert's  in  Durham.  He 
found  much  difficulty  in  getting  his  office  into 
satisfactory  relations  with  the  English  metro- 
politans and  Romish  practices  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  royal  authority,  the  priests  and  practices 
of  the  Scottish  Church  on  the  other.^  He  was 
appointed  in  1107,  when  still  the  only  bishop  in 
what  was  then  called  Scotia,  and  was  conse- 
crated at  York  in  1109,  with  reservation  of  the 
rights  of  both  sees.  After  six  years  of  trouble 
he  went  into  England  for  advice,  and  never  came 
back.  The  see  was  again  vacant  until  1 1 20. 
His  successor,  Eadmer,  also  a  Saxon,  a  monk  of 
Canterbury,  found  the  same  difficulties.  Some 
clergy  of  his  native  country  advised  him  to  com- 
ply with  the  usages  of  the  Scottish  Church  as  far 
as  he  could  ''  without  dishonoring  his  character 
or  hazarding  his  salvation."  In  their  estimate, 
it  seems,  the  difference  between  the  Scottish 
Church  and  the  Romish,  on  some  points,  was 
vital.     Eadmer  preferred  to  abandon  the  strife, 

^  Skene,  i.  450. 


THE   ROMISH  CHURCH   GOVERNMENT.         1 59 

and  returned  to  England.  Again  the  see  was 
left  vacant,  and  after  Eadmer's  death,  In  1124, 
Alexander  ao^ain  chose  a  Saxon,'  but  one  better 
acquainted  with  the  country,  having  been  some 
time  prior  of  the  monastery  of  regular  canons 
at  Scone,  established  by  Alexander  in  the 
beginning  of  his  reign.  The  king  wanted  a 
Scottish  primacy  without  dependence  on  Eng- 
land ;  could  he  not  find  a  Scotsman  able  and 
willing  to  take  that  honorable  place  ?  It  seems 
not,  or  that  he  felt  unwilling  to  trust  any  of 
them  with  so  much  influence  over  his  plans. 
Robert  the  monk  had  to  contend  with  the  same 
difficulties  which  discouraged  his  predecessors, 
but  he  weathered  through  them,  and  in  the 
fourth  year  of  King  David  was  consecrated 
by  the  archbishop  of  York,  "as  Turgot  had 
been,  reserving  the  rights  of  both  churches," 
and  held  the  office  until  his  death,  in  11 58  or 
1 1 59.  The  bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  however, 
did  not  reach  full  recognition  of  his  metropol- 
itan honors  until  long  afterward.  The  arch- 
bishop of  York  persisted  in  the  claim  of 
superiority  over  all  the  bishoprics  of  the 
north,  nor  at  first  would  the  pope  interfere 
to  restrain  his  ambition  or  to  enforce  compli- 
ance. 

1  Burton,  i.  423. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

INTRODUCTION  OF  ROMISH  MONASTICISM. 

DURING  the  same  reigns  another  branch  of 
the  Romish  ecclesiastical  empire  was  plant- 
ed in  Scotland.  Monachism  is  not  an  inteorral 
part  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  It  is 
rather  a  foreign  resident  which  has  obtained 
naturalization  under  severe  conditions,  never 
entirely  removed.  And  yet  in  a  large  part  of 
her  history  Roman  Catholicism  has  fostered  the 
regular  monastic  orders  as  valuable  auxiliaries. 
But  the  royal  sons  of  St.  Margaret  thought  the 
Church  not  complete  without  the  monastery,  and 
set  up  the  two  side  by  side,  as  if  they  had  been 
the  two  halves  of  a  unit. 

To  neither  the  diocesan  nor  the  monastic  sys- 
tem were  the  Scottish  clergy  held  to  belong. 
They  were  set  aside  to  make  way  for  the  bish- 
ops, and  totally  ignored  when  bringing  in  the 
orders.  If  the  bishoprics  in  Scotland  were 
every  one  constructed  on  an  English  model,^ 
and  an  Englishman  was  appointed  to  preside 
over   their   working,   the    monasteries    were    a 

^  Joseph  Robertson,  in  ihe  Quarterly  Rev.,  June,  1849,  P*  ^^1  • 
160 


INTRODUCTION   OF  ROMISH  MONASTICISM.    l6l 

wholesale  importation,  entirely  of  foreign  ma- 
terial. Buildings  for  them  were  erected  after 
the  example  of  those  in  England  or  on  the 
Continent,  and  the  monks  and  nuns  were  im- 
ported from  abroad.  The  work  of  their  multi- 
plication was  carried  forward  by  Kings  Edgar, 
Alexander  and  David  parallel  with  their  recon- 
struction of  the  Church,  until  the  land  was  full 
of  them.  Edo;ar  had  no  sooner  secured  him- 
self  on  the  throne  than  he  began  (1098)  by  re- 
storing the  monastery  of  Coldingham  among 
his  Saxon  subjects  on  the  English  border,  pro- 
viding it  with  abundant  endowment  and  supply- 
incr  it  with  Benedictine  monks  from  Durham. 
He  also  founded  a  priory  at  Dunfermline,  which 
was  afterward  remodeled  by  King  David,  who 
made  it  an  abbey  and  placed  in  it  Benedictine 
monks  brought  from  Canterbury.^  In  11 14, 
Alexander  erected  an  abbey  for  regular  can- 
ons of  St,  Augustine  at  Scone,  and  in  11 23 
another  for  the  same  order  on  Inchcolm,  and 
others  elsewhere. 

But  in  abundance  of  this  kind  of  work  Da- 
vid I.  distanced  all  rivalry.  In  11 28  he  estab- 
lished an  abbey  of  Augustinians  at  Edinburgh, 
which,  being  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Cross,  was 
called  of  the  Holy  Rood.  He  built  at  Melrose, 
upon  the  ruins  of  the  old  Columban  institution, 
an  abbey  for  Cistercian  monks   brought  from 

^  Gaz.  of  Scot.,  i.  p.  389;  Skene,  ii.  392. 
U 


1 62  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

England ;  also  the  abbey  of  Cambus  Kenneth 
for  Aug-ustinian  monks  from  France ;  also  that 
at  Kelso,  that  at  Jedburgh  and  others,  besides 
priories  in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom.  He 
furnished  establishments  for  Knights  Templars 
and  Knights  of  St.  John,  whom  he  was  the  first 
to  bring  into  Scotland.  He  also  erected  monas- 
tic houses  for  Cistercian  nuns  at  Berwick,  Three 
Fountains,  and  at  Gulane  in  East  Lothian. 

Again  the  example  of  the  monarch  was  imi- 
tated by  some  of  his  wealthy  nobility.  Fergus, 
lord  of  Galloway,  founded  for  Premonstra- 
tensian  monks  the  abbey  of  Soulseat  near 
Stranraer,  and  another  at  Tungland,  and  one 
for  Cistercians  at  Dundrennan.  Hugh  de 
Moreville,  constable  of  Scotland,  erected  the 
abbey  of  Dryburgh  on  the  Tweed,  and  that  of 
Kilwinning  in  Ayrshire.  Cospatrick,  earl  of 
March,  built  a  convent  for  Cistercian  nuns  at 
Coldstream,  and  another  at  Eccles  in  Berwick- 
shire. 

In  brief,  when  this  enterprise  of  extinguish- 
ing the  Scottish  Church  was  complete,  "  not 
less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  religious  houses 
of  all  kinds"  were  established  within  the  bounds 
of  Scotland,  "  many  of  them  richly  endowed." 
A  large  portion  of  the  best  soil  of  the  country 
had  been  transferred  to  foreign  monks  and 
nuns.^     That  many  of  the  earlier  monks  were 

^  Dr.  Campbell's  St.  Giles  Lecture. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  ROMISH  MONASTICISM.      1 63 

skillful  farmers  and  orenerous  landlords  was 
so  far  good,  but  die  time  came  when  they  were 
neither ;  and  irrespective  of  that  consideration, 
certainly  the  conduct  of  the  king  was  the  most 
extraordinary  imposition  ever  inflicted  upon  an 
unsubdued  people. 

Whether  it  might  not  have  been  better  to 
reconstruct  the  Scottish  Church,  and  reform 
what  needed  reformation  in  it,  would  at  that 
date  have  been  unprofitable  speculation.  Its 
enemy  w^as  on  the  throne.  That  the  change 
turned  out  to  be  for  good  in  a  great  crisis  of  the 
national  history  will  appear  in  the  subsequent 
narrative.  But,  however  well  intended  or  how- 
ever turning  out,  it  looks  to  us  at  this  distance 
of  time  and  place  as  a  singularly  high-handed 
course  of  conduct.  No  doubt  some  of  its  de- 
tails were  as  cruel  as  its  general  policy  was  arbi- 
trary. Considering  what  Scotsmen  are  in  spirit 
and  independence,  the  serenity  with  which  they, 
or  some  of  them,  write  about  the  innovation  is 
not  a  little  remarkable.  The  king  who  seizes 
their  entire  Church  and  all  its  property,  turns 
out  their  whole  national  clergy,  and  without 
consulting  the  religious  preferences  of  the 
nation  intrudes  upon  it  a  foreign  Church  with 
a  great  array  of  expensive  foreign  dignita- 
ries, on  whom  he  not  only  confers  all  that 
belonged  to  the  national  Church,  but  also 
lays  an  enormous  burden  of  taxation  upon  the 


164  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

country  to  sustain  the  rank  of  the  new  and  ex- 
pensive class  of  nobility,  is,  in  the  language 
of  some  of  their  writers,  "  the  saintly  David." 
People  in  the  ordinary  way  of  speaking  about 
such  a  ruler  would  use  less  complimentary 
terms.  King  James  VI.  said  of  David  that 
he  was  "a  sair  sanct  for  the  Croun."  But,  in 
fact,  David's  lavish  expenditure,  whatever  it 
may  have  drawn  from  the  legitimate  resources 
of  the  Crown,  was  mainly  furnished  by  his  ex- 
actions from  the  people  in  the  parishes  and 
seizure  of  the  entire  national  Church  and  rob- 
bery of  her  clerical  servants. 

It  is  vain  to  ask  if  he  did  any  private  injus- 
tice. Of  course  he  did,  in  such  a  sweeping 
confiscation.  Culdees  resisted,  but  they  could 
only  protest.  If  they  would  retain  a  place  in 
the  Church,  they  had  to  accept  it  under  the 
new  organization,  and  abjure  their  own.  In 
some  places  their  order  was  disintegrated  grad- 
ually, a  law  being  enacted  that  when  one  of 
their  number  died  his  place  should  be  filled  by 
a  canon  of  the  Catholic  Church ;  in  others  they 
were  allowed  to  retain  their  own  order,  but 
under  such  limitations  as  to  reduce  them  to 
insignificancy ;  and  in  others  they  were  at  once 
abolished  by  an  act  of  extinction. 

Of  David's  arbitrary  way  of  treating  the 
owners  of  the  property  he  seized  evidence  re- 
mains in  his  own  hand's  work.     One  example 


IXTRODUCriON   OF  ROMISH  MONASTICISM.      1 65 

will  suffice.  In  a  charter  conveying  the  Cul- 
dee  abbacy  of  Lochleven  to  St.  Andrews  for 
establishing  a  priory  of  Augustinlan  canons 
there,  King  David  declares  that  he  has  given 
and  granted  to  the  canons  of  St.  Andrews  the 
Island  of  Lochleven,  that  they  might  establish 
canonical  order  there ;  and  the  Keledei  who 
shall  be  found  there,  if  they  consent  to  live  as 
regulars,  shall  be  permitted  to  remain  in  socie- 
ty with  and  subject  to  the  others ;  but  should 
any  of  them  be  disposed  to  offer  resistance,  his 
will  and  pleasure  is  that  such  should  be  expelled 
from  the  island.^  Some  colleges  of  Culdees 
submitted  to  that  helpless  dependency  where 
they  had  once  been  principal,  and,  suffering 
successive  diminutions  of  duties  and  Import- 
ance, prolonged  a  half-alive  existence  for  a 
century — some  for  more  than  two  centuries. 
It  was  cruel  injustice  to  the  memory  of  the 
blessed  and  glorious  days  of  Scottish  evangel- 
ism to  deprive  that  ministry  of  everything  that 
made  it  valuable,  and  to  keep  its  weakness  on 
exhibition. 

That  long  and  lingering  death  was  spared 
lona.  In  1203,  Pope  Innocent  III.  took  the  isl- 
and under  his  protection  and  filled  her  cells 
with  Benedictine  monks. 

What  the  sentiment  of  the  Scottish  people 
was  w^e  can  only  conjecture,  for  the  records  of 

1  Skene,  ii.  388. 

i 


l66  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Scotland  now  passed  into  hands  which  exercised 
a  retrospective  care  in  manipulating  those  of 
the  past  as  well  as  in  tingeing  with  their  own 
colors  the  facts  of  current  history.  But  what 
were  the  feelings  of  the  Celtic  people  toward 
their  more  than  half-Saxon  rulers  is  put  beyond 
a  doubt  by  the  repeated  insurrections  to  drive 
them  and  their  successors  from  the  throne. 

Within  the  same  twelfth  century  the  Irish 
Church  was  also  subordinated  to  the  great  dic- 
tator of  religious  profession.  In  1171,  Henry 
II.  entered  upon  the  conquest  of  Ireland,  which 
resulted  in  bringing  that  country  under  Eng- 
lish and  papal  dominion.  In  1282,  Wales  was 
finally  subdued,  and  the  last  resistance  to  Eng- 
lish power  in  South  Britain  brought  to  a  end. 
The  papacy  now  spread  its  wings  over  all  the 
formerly  unfettered  churches  of  the  British 
Isles. 

The  ancient  Scottish  Church  may  be  pre- 
sumed to  have  been  worse  than  the  Romish, 
or  better ;  but  all  pretension  that  it  was  the 
same  is  indubitably  in  error,  seeing  that  a 
national  revolution  was  needed  to  make  it 
conform,  and  the  effect  of  conformity  was  ex- 
tinction. 

Yet  it  must  be  said  for  the  king  that  he  un- 
doubtedly believed  himself  in  the  right.  He 
had  been  educated  religiously,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a   mother  and   a   sister  both   devoted 


INTRODUCTION  OF  ROMISH  MONASTICISM.      1 6/ 

Roman  Catholics,  and  of  intelligence  and  of 
consistency  of  life  to  recommend  their  faith. 
During  his  long  residence  in  England  he  had 
been  impressed  with  the  regularity  and  impe- 
rial weight  of  power  evinced  by  the  Church  of 
which  the  pope  was  the  head.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Scottish  Church  appeared  to  be  in  a 
state  of  decay,  without  any  common  centre  of 
authority  or  source  of  protection.  In  one  quar- 
ter and  another  he  saw  it  the  prey  of  a  rapa- 
cious layman,  who,  under  the  name  of  abbot, 
turned  its  property  to  his  own  use,  leaving  to 
his  prior  and  a  dozen  Culdees  some  remnants 
of  the  income  and  all  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
To  strengthen  a  feeble  Church,  to  provide 
for  the  ordinances  of  religion  among  the  peo- 
ple, and  to  turn  the  property  so  alienated  into 
its  right  channel  again,  was  certainly  a  good 
work  for  a  king.  But  the  whole  religious  con- 
struction needed  to  be  renovated,  built  up  anew 
from  the  foundation.  Must  it  not  also  be  built 
with  sound  material  ?  In  the  king's  mind  of 
course  there  was  no  question.  The  Roman 
Church  was  the  only  true  Church.  To  put  it 
into  the  place  of  the  feeble  Scottish  Church 
was  a  duty  to  the  nation  and  to  God.  And 
whatever  was  needed  to  effect  that  end  was 
right.  Nor  is  it  to  be  denied  that  the  union 
of  Scodand  with  the  Catholic  Church  was  at 
that   time,  and  for  the   next  hundred  and  fifty 


1 68  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

years,  of  unspeakable  benefit  to  her  progress 
in  civilization  and  general  national  prosperity. 

Scotland  came  into  the  Catholic  Church  at 
the  beeinninor  of  those  changres  in  church  build- 
ing  which  created  the  Gothic  style  of  architec- 
ture. Her  religious  revolution,  in  the  first  half 
of  the  twelfth  century,  made  an  extraordinary 
demand — in  fact,  more  than  could  be  immedi- 
ately met — for  new  buildings.  All  the  parishes, 
with  few  exceptions,  had  to  be  provided  for. 
The  new  bishoprics  claimed  cathedrals,  and  the 
bishops  palaces  consistent  with  their  dignity. 
The  multitude  of  monastic  colonies  had  to  be 
supplied  with  their  appropriate  accommoda- 
tions. All  this  could  not  be  done  at  once. 
Of  course  necessity  took  precedence  of  ele- 
gance. As  far  as  existing  Scottish  buildings 
could  answer  the  purpose  they  were  converted 
to  it,  but  all  new  structures  were  copied  from 
those  of  their  kind  in  England. 

At  that  period  the  architectural  style  preva- 
lent in  England  was  the  Romanesque,  charac- 
terized by  its  round  arches,  its  roofed  towers, 
its  correspondent  sobriety  of  decoration  and 
balance  of  sentiment  between  that  of  aspiration 
and  repose.  It  could  not  fail  to  be  transported 
with  the  spiritual  structure  into  Scotland.  Ca- 
thedrals and  abbeys  took  longer  time  to  finish, 
and  some  of  them  were  not  begun  until  many 
years  after  the  death  of  David  I.,  and  when  fin- 


IXTRODUCTION  OF  ROMISH  MONASTJCISM.     169 

ished  exhibited  features  of  successive  varieties  of 
architectural  progress.  But  the  parish  churches, 
a  first  necessity,  where  they  did  not  retain  the 
humbler  character  of  the  old  Scottish,  were  prob- 
ably all  constructed  after  the  Romanesque.  "  By 
far  the  greater  number  of  ancient  parish  churches 
of  which  fragments  still  exist"  are  of  that  style. ^ 
As  many  of  the  finest  ecclesiastical  buildings 
in  Scotland  reached  their  completeness  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century  and  at  dif- 
ferent dates  in  the  thirteenth,  they  presented 
more  or  less  the  graceful  and  stately  outlines 
of  successive  varieties  of  the  Gothic,  then  in 
England  rising  toward  its  maturity  of  beauty, 
which  it  reached  in  the  fourteenth  century. 
Unfortunately  for  Scotland,  her  progress  in 
that  art  was  abruptly  suspended  by  the  long 
and  devastating  war  of  independence,  and  ages 
of  industry  were  needed  to  replenish  the  cof- 
fers of  the  builder.  King  Robert  I.,  when  vic- 
tory had  established  him  upon  the  throne, 
showed  a  disposition  to  repair  the  losses  of 
the  Church  to  the  utmost  of  his  power.  He 
was  present  at  the  consecration  of  the  cathe- 
dral of  St.  Andrews  in  1318,  and  endowed  it 
with  the  gift  of  a  hundred  marks  a  year,  and 
toward  the  rebuildine  of  Melrose,  laid  in  ruins 
by  English  invasion,  he  set  apart  "all  the  feu- 
dal casualties  and  crown  issues  of  Teviotdale 

^  Dr.  Campbell's  St.  Giles  Lecture. 


170  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

until  they  should  amount  to  two  thousand 
pounds  sterHng — a  sum  equal  to  more  than 
fifty  thousand  pounds  in  the  present  day,"  ^ 
and  on  his  deathbed  urged  that  it  should 
faithfully  be  paid.  The  proceeds  do  not 
seem  to  have  realized  the  king's  expectations. 
The  work  went  on  slowly.  Meanwhile,  a  richer 
variety  of  Gothic  came  in  vogue  in  time  to  honor 
the  more  advanced  part  of  the  abbey  with  some 
of  its  most  beautiful  creations. 

Thence,  onward  to  the  Reformation,  Scotland 
in  her  architecture  and  other  arts  preferred  the 
example  of  Fran-ce. 

At  the  religious  revolution,  the  country  must 
have  been  in  a  highly  prosperous  condition  to 
afford  such  sumptuous  institutions  as  it  was  now 
called  upon  to  sustain.  For  the  Church  itself 
there  must  have  been  abundant  provision — that 
is,  for  all  the  parish  churches  and  parish  priests. 
But  when  princely  hierarchs  had  also  to  be  main- 
tained, the  drain  upon  the  parishes  was  greatly 
increased.  And  when  a  large  proportion  of  the 
parochial  income  had  also  to  go  into  the  endow- 
ment of  monasteries,  or  was  otherwise  disposed 
of,  the  burden  became  oppressive.  From  the 
first,  the  sons  of  St.  Margaret  had  adopted  the 
practice  of  conferring  the  revenues  of  parishes 
upon  monastic  houses.  It  increased  as  the 
twelfth  century  went  on,  and  into  the  follow- 

'  Quarterly  Rev.,  June,  1849,  P-  KO- 


IXTRODUCTION  OF  KOMISH  MONASTICISM.    I /I 

ing.  "  In  the  reign  of  William  the  Lion  thirty- 
three  parish  churches  were  bestowed  on  the 
abbey  of  Arbroath.  Dunfermline  had  as 
many ;  Paisley,  thirty ;  Holyrood,  twenty-sev- 
en ;  Melrose,  Kelso  and  Lindores,  nearly  simi- 
lar numbers.  The  revenues  of  bishoprics  were 
increased  from  the  same  source.  In  the  early 
part  of  King  William's  reign  the  bishopric  of 
Glasgow  possessed  twenty-five  churches,  and 
several  more  were  afterward  acquired  by  it." 
"  Seven  hundred  Scottish  parishes — probably 
two-thirds  of  the  whole  number — were  vicar- 
ages ;  that  is  to  say,  the  greater  tithes  of  corn, 
etc.  went  to  the  monks  and  bishops,  while  the 
vicar,  who  performed  the  parochial  duties,  got 
only  the  lesser  tithes  or  a  very  small  money 
stipend."  After  dividing  their  earnings  with  the 
bishop  and  the  great  distant  house  of  monks, 
the  parishioners  and  their  vicar  must,  many  a 
time,  have  found  the  residue  a  scanty  support. 
"The  underpaid  curate  was  despised  for  his  pov- 
erty, which  disabled  him  from  worthily  minister- 
ing to  the  varied  wants  of  his  parishioners,  while 
those  emoluments  which  would  have  provided  a 
comfortable  subsistence  for  a  resident  clergy- 
man were  carried  off  to  the  distant  monastery 
or  to  the  bishop's  palace."  ^ 

Had  those  burdens  accumulated  by  an  insen- 
sible   process   of   growth    out  of    fundamental 

1  Dr.  Campbell's  St.  Giles  Led. 


172  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

principles  admitted  by  the  public  to  be  right, 
as  they  had  grown  in  most  countries  on  the 
Continent,  they  might  have  been  borne  meekly 
as  a  necessity  of  Christian  life.  In  Scotland 
the  people  had  learned  the  demands  of  the 
gospel  in  another  way — a  way  which  had  no 
leading  in  that  direction.  Romanism  in  its 
full  maturity,  both  secular  and  regular,  was 
stamped  down  upon  them,  without  prepara- 
tion for  it,  by  purely  absolute  authority.  They 
did  not  submit  without  a  struggle,  repeated 
struggles,  but  the  royal  arm  proved  the  strong- 
er. The  really  reconciling  element,  however, 
seems  to  have  been  the  parish.  Already  in 
their  own  Church  some  tendency  toward  a 
parochial  division  of  Christian  work  had  be- 
gun to  appear  in  certain  quarters,  and  the 
completeness  of  the  plan  seems  to  have  fall- 
en in  with  the  development  of  a  native  idea. 
Moreover,  of  all  the  work  under  Romanism 
parish  work  was  that  in  which  the  Scottish 
clergy  could  most  freely  engage,  and  prob- 
ably by  them,  in  the  first  instance,  were  the 
parishes  chiefly  supplied.  Reconciled  thereby, 
the  people  were  gradually  brought  to  submit 
to  other  things,  the  value  of  which  was  not 
equally  clear  to  them. 

In  less  than  one  hundred  years  after  the 
death  of  King  David,  another  reinforcement 
was  made   to  the  host  of  monastic  orders   in 


INTRODUCTION  OF  ROMISH  MONASTIC  ISM,    1/3 

an  influx  of  Dominican  and  Franciscan  friars. 
Org-anized  for  service  in  itinerant  preaching, 
those  orders  could  find  no  proper  occasion  for 
their  presence  where  the  secular  clergy  were 
faithful  to  duty.  Whether  in  the  thirteenth 
century  that  occasion  existed  in  Scotland  or 
not,  we  find  it  stated  that  there,  as  elsewhere, 
although  they  may  at  first  have  done  good,  yet 
upon  the  whole  their  influence  proved  inju- 
rious by  creating  dissension  among  the  clergy 
and  alienation  between  the  people  and  their 
pastors. 


CHAPTER     V. 

PAPAL    SCOTLAND.— NATIONAL    CONSOLIDATION. 

KING  DAVID  I.,  saint  by  suffrage  of  ad- 
mirers, but  without  canonization,  left  his 
kingdom  enlarged  by  the  firm  annexation  of 
Moray  on  the  north,  and  of  all  the  south  main- 
land to  the  line  of  the  Solway,  the  Cheviot 
mountains  and  the  lower  Tweed,  but  with  the 
national  resources  at  the  disposal  of  the  Crown 
greatly  diminished.  His  tenure  of  Northum- 
bria  and  that  part  of  Cumbria  south  of  the 
Solway  did  not  constitute  them  provinces  of 
Scotland.  They  were  surrendered  after  his 
death.  His  earldom  of  Huntingdon  was  sub- 
sequently confirmed  to  his  successor,  on  condi- 
tion of  paying  homage  to  the  king  of  England 
for  it.  But  his  extensive  possessions  in  Eng- 
land, obtained  with  his  wife,  passed  at  her 
death  into  the  hands  of  her  son  by  a  former 
marriage. 

David's  only  son,  Henry,  with  the  consent 
of  Stephen,  king  of  England,  was  made  earl  of 
Northumbria.  Henry  dying  before  his  father, 
in  1 1 52,  the  succession  to  the  throne  of  Scot- 

174 


PAPAL    SCOTLAND.  1/5 

land  fell  to  his  eldest  son,  Malcolm,  not  quite 
twelve  years  of  age.  By  royal  appointment 
the  earl  of  Fife,  chief  of  the  seven  native  earls 
of  Scotland,  acted  the  part  of  guardian,  and, 
securing  the  allegiance  of  his  peers,  crowned 
the  young  king  without  the  intervention  of  a 
regency  (1153).  The  policy  was  prudent.  A 
war  from  the  side  of  the  Celtic  population  was 
already  moving  under  Somerled,  king  of  Ar- 
gyll. It  was  successfully  encountered,  but  not 
brought  to  an  end  until  after  five  years  (1159).^ 
It  was  followed  next  year  by  a  rebellion  within 
the  kingdom,  led  by  six  of  the  seven  native 
earls.  They  failed  in  their  attempt,  and  the 
kinor  received  them  aeain  into  favor.  In  the 
same  year  he  reduced  Galloway  finally  to  sub- 
jection, and  the  restlessness  of  Moray  was 
terminated  by  scattering  its  native  inhabitants 
elsewhere,  and  filling  their  places  with  more 
peaceful  subjects — no  doubt  largely  Saxons 
and  Normans.  Four  years  afterward  (1164) 
another  invasion  was  made  by  Somerled  of 
Argyll,  which  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the 
death  of  its  leader. 

At  the  end  of  twelve  years  Malcolm  IV. 
died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Wil- 
liam, called  the  Lion.  The  district  of  Ross  was 
now  annexed  to  the  kingdom.  Another  rebel- 
lion  of  the   Celtic   population   put  forward,  as 

^  Skene,  i.,  ch.  ix. 


1/6  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

candidate  for  the  throne,  a  Celtic  leader,  Don- 
ald Ban  Macwilliam,  a  descendant  of  Duncan, 
oldest  son  of  Malcolm  III.  by  his  first  wife,  a 
Norwegian.  It  was  followed  by  an  insurrec- 
tion in  Galloway,  and  another  in  Stratherne, 
which  carried  its  attacks  into  Lothian,  and 
afterward  joined  the  insurgents  in  Galloway. 
But  there  Reginald,  the  royalist  leader,  who 
had  already  worsted  his  domestic  enemies,  en- 
countered and  repelled  them.  Caithness  was 
taken  by  force  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Nor- 
wegian earl,  and  annexed  more  intimately  to 
the  kingdom  of  Scotland.  And  an  insurrec- 
tion of  the  people  of  Ross,  repressed  in  the 
last  years  of  William's  reign,  brought  that 
province  also  into  more  complete  subjection. 
Occasion  was  given  to  some  of  these  disor- 
ders by  William's  misfortunes  abroad.  In  the 
beginning  of  his  reign,  grieved  for  the  loss  of 
Northumberland  by  Malcolm,  he  demanded 
from  the  king  of  England  its  restitution. 
That  being  refused,  he  attempted  to  recov- 
er it  by  arms.  The  Yorkshire  barons,  march- 
ing to  meet  the  invading  army,  by  accident 
captured  the  Scottish  king.  They  sent  him 
to  their  king,  Henry  II.,  then  in  France,^  and 
Henry  shut  him  up  in  the  stronghold  of  Fa- 
laise.  There  he  was  retained  until  December, 
1 1 74,   when    he    was    set    free   under  a   treaty 

^  Buchanan,  i.  294. 


PAPAL    SCOTLAND.  1/7 

whereby  he  submitted  to  hold  Scotland  as  a 
feudal  dependency  of  the  English  crown,  for 
which  he  was  to  do  homage  as  absolute  as  that 
of  any  other  vassal  of  England.  As  pledge  for 
the  fulfillment  of  these  conditions  he  was  con- 
strained to  yield  five  of  the  strongest  places  in 
Scotland — viz.  Edinburgh,  Stirling,  Berwick, 
Jedburgh  and  Roxburgh — to  be  held  by  Eng- 
lish  troops. 

This  exorbitant  ransom  was,  fifteen  years 
afterward  (1189),  completely  remitted  and  the 
English  garrisons  withdrawn  by  Richard  I., 
Coeur  de  Lion,  amone  the  first  acts  of  his 
reign,  who  instead  of  It  accepted  the  sum  of 
ten  thousand  marks,  more  valuable  to  him.  In 
his  contemplated  crusade,  than  an  empty  hom- 
age. In  her  troubles  under  King  John,  Eng- 
land saw  a  Scottish  army  once  more  upon  her 
borders  for  recovery  of  the  contested  provinces. 
Nothing  was  effected.  William  died  (12 14), 
leaving  the  unsettled  controversy  to  his  son, 
Alexander  II.  It  was  closed  In  1237  by  the  king 
of  England  conferring  upon  the  king  of  Scot- 
land certain  lands  in  Cumberland  and  Northum- 
berland, to  be  held  in  feudal  tenure.  But  the 
peace  effected  thereby  was  brief.  In  1222  com- 
missioners were  appointed  on  both  sides  to  de- 
termine a  boundary-line  between  the  kingdoms. 
After  two  separate  trials  they  failed  to  agree. 

Alexander  II.  had  reigned  barely  a  year  when 
12 


1/8  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  two  Celtic  parties  of  Donald  Ban  Macwil- 
liam  and  Malcolm  Macbeth  united  to  recover 
the  throne.  But  a  new  Celtic  party  now  arose 
in  favor  of  the  reigning  house.  Its  head,  Fer-^ 
quard  Maclntagart,  was  descended  from  the 
abbot  of  the  old  Scottish  monastery  of  Ap- 
plecross,  and  heir  of  its  large  possessions, 
which  had  not  yet  come  into  the  kingdom  as 
now  constituted.  With  his  own  means  Macln- 
tagart reduced  the  rebellion  and  presented  the 
heads  of  its  leaders  to  the  king.  In  that  act  the 
northern  part  of  what  was  then  Argyll,  being  the 
inheritance  of  Maclntagart,  was  peacefully  an- 
nexed. 

Southern  Argyll  still  belonged  to  the  family 
of  Somerled.  Alexander  marched  into  it  at  the 
head  of  an  army.  The  people,  having  no  lead- 
er in  whom  they  had  confidence,  submitted  with- 
out resistance.  Thus  was  the  possession  of  the 
mainland  completed. 

By  these  conquests  on  the  north  and  west  the 
dominion  of  Norway  had  been  to  the  same  ex- 
tent diminished.  It  was  now  the  purpose  of  the 
Scottish  kings  to  regain  the  long-alienated  isles. 
Proposals  were  made  to  Hakon,  king  of  Nor- 
way, to  surrender  them.  Hakon  refused,  on 
the  ground  that  his  right  to  them  had  been 
conceded  by  Malcolm  III.  and  afterward  by 
Edgar.  Alexander  proposed  to  purchase  them. 
Hakon  declined  the  offer.     Alexander  then  un- 


PAPAL    SCOTLAND.  1 79 

dertook  to  recover  them  by  force  of  arms,  but 
had  only  commenced  operations  on  the  Island 
of  Kerreray  when  he  died,  July  8,  1249.  His 
son,  Alexander  III.,  on  the  fifth  day  afterward, 
was  crowned  at  Scone,  although  not  quite  eight 
years  old. 

Celtic  opposition,  since  the  example  of  Mac- 
Intagart,  had  been  yielding  to  the  apparently 
irresistible  course  of  events.  It  was  now  for- 
mally surrendered.  At  the  coronation  of  Alex- 
ander III.,  after  the  king  had  received  the  hom- 
age of  the  feudal  baronage  of  the  kingdom, 
Saxon  and  Norman,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
seven  earls,  a  Highland  senachie  advanced, 
and,  hailing  him  king  of  Alban,  recited  his 
pedigree,  through  a  long  line  of  Gaelic  kings, 
from  the  founder  of  the  race — a  formal  Celtic 
acknowledgment  of  the  new  king  as  belonging 
to  the  true  Scottish  line.  Next  year  the  bones 
of  Queen  Margaret  were,  In  presence  of  the 
king,  the  seven  earls  and  seven  bishops,  sol- 
emnly taken  up  and  deposited  in  a  shrine  set 
with  gold  and  precious  stones.  At  last  the 
Scoto-Saxon  family  had  received  a  voluntary 
recognition  from  the  Celtic  people,  to  whose 
preferences,  In  religion  or  otherwise,  they  had 
never  paid  much  regard.  But  that  royal  line 
had  ceased  to  be  Celtic  in  its  spirit,  and  in  suc- 
cessive generations  had  partaken  increasingly 
of  Saxon  blood.     In  the  case  of  Alexander  II. 


l8o  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND, 

and  Alexander  III.  it  became  allied  to  the  Nor- 
man, and  in  the  death  of  the  latter  became  ex- 
tinct. 

Among-  the  southern  Hebrides  and  on  the 
coast  of  Lorn  tjie  Scottish  monarchy  began 
in  the  hands  of  the  Dalriad  Scots.  But  while 
in  prosecution  of  gains  on  the  mainland  it  had 
been  advancing  eastward,  northward  and  south- 
ward, Norwegian  arms  had  been  allowed  to 
take  possession  of  its  original  seat  of  power. 
In  1249  ^^  attempt  to  compel  the  earl  of  Ar- 
gyll to  transfer  to  Scotland  the  homage  which 
he  paid  for  certain  isles  to  Norway  gave  occa- 
sion to  the  campaign  of  Alexander  11.^  in  which 
he  died.  The  earl  of  Ross  also  and  others 
were  charged  by  the  Norsemen  with  hostilely 
invading  their  island  dominion.  Much  anxiety 
was  created  among  them  thereby.  In  the  fail- 
ure of  negotiations,  Hakon,  king  of  Norway, 
resolved  upon  a  naval  expedition  for  the  pro- 
tection of  his  distant  subjects  and  the  chastise- 
ment of  their  invaders. 

In  the  summer  of  1263  the  armament  was 
complete,  the  largest  and  best-equipped  that 
had  ever  sailed  from  the  land  of  the  Vikings. 
Committing  the  general  government  to  the 
hands  of  his  son,  the  heroic  old  king,  who  had 
ruled  that  warlike  people  forty-and-six  years, 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  expedition. 
Proceeding  first  to  Orkney,  the  principal  seat 


PAPAL    SCOTLAND.  l8l 

of  Norwegian  rule  for  the  northern  isles,  as 
Man  was  for  the  southern,  his  operations  were 
thence  addressed  to  the  coasts  of  the  Scottish 
mainland.  The  attack  fell  like  a  tempest  from 
the  Atlantic,  sweeping  all  along  as  far  south  as 
Ayrshire,  and  penetrating  in  some  places  to  a 
great  distance  inland.  About  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember the  main  body  of  the  fleet,  to  the  num- 
ber of  one  hundred  and  sixty  ships,  rounded 
the  Mull  of  Kintyre  and  assumed  a  position  in 
the  firth  of  Clyde.  Negotiations  were  attempt- 
ed on  the  part  of  the  Scots.  They  were  willing 
to  acknowledge  the  Norwegian  as  king  of  all 
the  islands  outside  of  Kintyre.  But  Hakon 
demanded  also  those  w^ithin,  the  possession  of 
which  would  have  given  him  command  of  the 
firth,  and  thereby  entrance  to  the  very  heart 
of  Scotland.  It  could  not  be  conceded,  and 
Hakon  would  be  content  with  nothing  less. 
While  they  delayed  the  weather  became  stormy, 
and  some  of  the  Norwegian  ships  were  strand- 
ed   near   the  village   of  Lar^s.      Hakon    sent 

o  o 

troops  to  assist  in  bringing  them  off;  they 
were  encountered  by  Scottish  forces.  Both  sides 
were  hastily  reinforced,  and  the  conflict  became 
a  battle  which  proved  disastrous  to  the  Nor- 
wegians. The  storm  continued  and  increased. 
The  great  armament  was  scattered,  and  many 
of  the  ships  were  destroyed.  Hakon  withdrew 
the  shattered  fleet  to  Orknev.     So  serious  was 


1 82  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

his  loss  that  the  hope  of  repairing  it  could  not 
be  entertained.  Utterly  broken  in  spirit,  the 
old  sea-king  shrank  from  facing  his  people  of 
Norway.  He  lingered  in  Orkney  under  great 
despondency,  and  seeking  consolation  or  for- 
getfulness  in  the  duties  of  religion,  and  in  lis- 
tening to  the  Bible,  to  lives  of  the  saints,  and 
adventures  of  his  heroic  predecessors,  the  old 
Norwegian  kings.  He  died  on  the  12th  of 
December  the  same  year. 

With  the  battle  of  Largs  terminated  the  long 
career  of  Scandinavian  aggression  on  the  west 
coast  of  Scotland.  Three  years  afterward 
(1266)  a  treaty  was  formed  whereby  the  Heb- 
rides and  the  Isle  of  Man  were  transferred  to 
the  full  sovereignty  of  the  Scottish  crown,  for 
which  the  sum  of  one  thousand  marks  was  to 
be  paid  and  the  yearly  rent  of  one  hundred 
marks.  Orkney  and  Shetland  remained  Nor- 
wegian until  1469,  when  they  were  pledged  by 
Christian  I.,  king  of  Denmark,  Sweden  and 
Norway,  as  security  for  his  daughter's  dowry 
when  married  to  the  king  of  Scodand.  The 
dowry  never  was  paid,  and  the  islands  never 
returned  to  their  Scandinavian  alleelance. 
They  were  subsequently  constituted  a  county 
of  the  Scottish  kingdom  and  annexed  as  a 
diocese  to  the  Scottish  Church. 

After  the  death  of  Alexander  III.,  the  Isle 
of   Man   was   placed   by   its   inhabitants   under 


PAPAL    SCOTLAND.  1 83 

the  protection  of  Edward  I.  of  England,  and 
created  an  English  diocese  as  that  of  Sodor 
and  Man. 

Excepting  the  invasion  by  Hakon,  the  reign 
of  Alexander  III.  was  little  disturbed  by  mili- 
tary events,  and  was  one  of  great  national 
prosperity.  The  family  relations  in  which  the 
king  stood  to  the  royal  house  of  England  were 
faithfully  respected,  and  the  peace  with  Nor- 
way was  fortified  in  1281  by  the  marriage  of 
Alexander's  daughter  to  the  crown-prince  Eric. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

SCOTLAND  SUBMITS  TO  BE  A  ROMISH  PROVINCE. 

AMONG  the  effects  of  that  revolution  which 
extinguished  the  old  British,  Irish  and  Scot- 
tish churches  was  the  union  of  all  the  churches 
of  the  British  kingdoms  under  spiritual  alle- 
giance to  Rome — an  important  element  of  power 
to  England,  who  had  been  the  agent  In  effect- 
ing it,  and  whose  religion  was  thereby  estab- 
lished over  all.  In  the  case  of  Ireland  and 
Wales  it  was  connected  with  military  subjuga- 
tion ;  in  Scotland  it  was  the  work  of  English 
influence  engrafted  on  the  native  royal  stock ; 
but  there  also  it  led  the  way  to  English  pre- 
tensions to  superiority.  Those  pretensions 
appeared  first  among  the  high  ecclesiastics. 

With  the  Introduction  of  so  many  English 
clergy  into  Scotland  the  archbishops  of  Canter- 
bury and  York  began  to  claim  jurisdiction  over 
ecclesiastical  affairs  in  that  kingdom.  The  arch- 
bishop of  York  especially  urged  with  great  per- 
sistency his  metropolitan  rights  over  all  the  terri- 
tory north  of  the  Humber,  and  that  it  belonged 
to  him  to  appoint  even  the  principal  bishop  of  St. 

184 


SCOTLAND  A   ROMISH  PROVINCE.  1 85 

Andrews.  The  Scottish  king  manfully  resisted. 
He  could  not  fail  to  see  that  if  a  subject  of  the 
Enelish  kine  were  allowed  those  claims,  the 
Enorlish  kinor  himself  would  follow  with  claims 
still  more  exorbitant.  In  the  conflict  which  en- 
sued the  metropolitan  honors  of  St.  Andrews 
were  long  deferred. 

In  the  treaty  of  Falaise — that  instrument  by 
which  William  the  Lion  purchased  his  personal 
freedom  at  the  expense  of  a  formal  surrender 
of  his  kingdom's  independence — an  attempt 
was  made  to  subordinate  also  the  Church  of 
Scotland  to  that  of  England.  But  a  complete 
Catholic  hierarchy  now  existed  in  the  former, 
and,  the  more  effectually  to  repel  the  persistent 
obtrusion,  recourse  was  had  to  papal  authority. 
The  pope  made  his  first  interference  in  the  af- 
fairs of  his  new  province  by  protecting  it. 

At  Northampton  a  papal  legate  held  an 
ecclesiastical  conference  in  presence  of  King 
Henry,  the  king  of  Scotland,  with  the  bishop 
of  St.  Andrews  and  five  other  Scottish  bishops, 
being  also  present.  The  Scottish  prelates  were 
there  called  upon  to  submit  to  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  and  take  their  place  as  subordinate  to 
the  English  Church.  They  denied  the  right  to 
any  such  supremacy.  And  when  the  archbish- 
op of  York  asserted  his  claim  over  Glasgow 
and  Galloway,  Jocelyn,  bishop  of  Glasgow,  took 
the  orround  that  he  was  under  the  immediate 


1 86  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

authority  of  the  pope.  After  the  conference, 
the  Scottish  bishops  sent  agents  to  Rome,  who 
obtained  a  papal  bull  fully  vindicating  the  posi- 
tion of  Scotland  as  a  separate  province  of  the 
Romish  Church,  and  forbidding  all  interference 
with  it.  Thus,  to  escape  the  aggressions  of  one 
foreign  power  the  little  kingdom  acknowledged 
the  jurisdiction  of  another,  for  the  pope  pro- 
tected her  from  English  metropolitanism  by 
declaring  her  a  province  of  his  own  empire. 
Sleepless  watchfulness  was  needed  to  main- 
tain the  national  standing. 

About  the  same  time  the  cardinal  legate, 
Vivian  Tomasi,  arrived  in  England.  He  also 
visited  Ireland,  Scotland  and  the  Isle  of  Man. 
The  new  relations  effected  or  contemplated  with 
those  countries  rendered  some  personal  obser- 
vation of  them  expedient  on  the  part  of  the 
papal  court.  In  Scodand  the  legate  held  a 
council.  Of  its  transactions  little  is  known, 
except  its  limitation  of  the  immunities  and 
revenues  of  the  Cistercian  monks. ^  Its  prin- 
cipal effect,  perhaps,  was  that  of  further  famil- 
iarizing the  people  with  papal  authority,  and 
making  a  demonstration  of  interest  in  them. 

The  weight  of  the  pontifical  hand  was  also 
invoked  in  a  domestic  episcopal  dispute.  A 
vacancy  having  occurred  in  the  see  of  St. 
Andrews   (1178),  the  chapter    forthwith    elect- 

^  Burton,  ii.  5. 


SCOTLAND   A   ROMISH  PROVINCE.  1 87 

ed  their  own  candidate,  John  Scot.  But  the 
king,  whose  prerogative  was  thus  sHghted,  had 
designed  Hugh,  his  own  chaplain,  for  the  place, 
and  actually  put  him  in  possession  of  its  tem- 
poralities. John  appealed  to  the  pope,  and  ob- 
tained a  decision  in  his  favor.      But  the  kino- 

o 

held  the  endowments,  and  banished  John  from 
the  country.  Again  the  pope  was  called  on  to 
interfere.  The  archbishop  of  York  and  the 
bishop  of  Durham  were  vested  with  powers  to 
decide  the  case,  and  commenced  action  in  the 
spirit  of  former  assumptions.  But  at  that 
juncture  the  pope,  Alexander  III.,  died,  and 
his  successor  preferred  to  settle  the  matter  by 
a  decision  of  his  own.  A  compromise  was  ef- 
fected. Hugh  was  put  into  full  possession  of 
St.  Andrews,  and  John  was  content  with  the 
bishopric  of  Dunkeld.^ 

Not  many  additions  were  made  to  the  mo- 
nastic Institutions  of  David  I.  in  the  next  four 
succeeding  reigns  ;  but  one  such  merits  atten- 
tion. The  great  abbey  of  Arbroath,  erected  in 
1 1 78  by  William  the  Lion,  was  endowed  with 
uncommon  munificence,  and  devoted  to  th^ 
memory  of  the  recently-made  saint  Thomas  \ 
Becket — an  act  of  royal  compliment  to  Rome, 
in  whose  interest  Thomas  lost  his  life ;  and 
something  of  the  contrary  to  the  king  of 
England,  who  had  received  the  scourge  upon 

^  Burton,  ii.  6. 


1 88  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

his  bare  shoulders  for  the  death  of  that  same 
St.  Thomas. 

The  papacy  was  then  at  the  summit  of  its 
power.  The  hand-  which  could  inflict  an  igno- 
minious punishment  upon  the  founder  of  the 
line  of  the  Plantagenets  was  able  to  protect  its 
servants,  and  to  punish  their  enemies  of  hum- 
bler rank.  A  case  of  that  kind  occurred  in 
Scotland  within  the  same  reign.  In  the  war 
for  Caithness  the  king  of  Scots,  having  proved 
to  some  extent  successful,  created  his  new  ter- 
ritory a  bishopric.  Not  long  afterward  Har- 
old, the  Norwegian  earl  of  Orkney,  arrived  with 
forces  to  recover  the  lost  province.  In  storm- 
ing a  casde  which  he  took,  slaying  almost  all 
who  were  in  it,  the  bishop  fell  a  prisoner  into 
his  hands.  Lombard,  a  layman,  informed  Pope 
Innocent  III.  that  he  was  himself  "  compelled  by 
some  of  the  earl's  soldiery  to  cut  out  the  bish- 
op's tongue."  For  that  savage  crime  the  pope 
condemned  the  earl  "  to  walk  about  conspicu- 
ously in  his  own  territories  fifteen  days  with 
bare  feet  and  only  clothing  enough  for  decency, 
his  tongue  being  so  tied  as  to  hang  from  his 
mouth,  while  he  suffered  the  active  discipline  of 
the  rod.  He  was  then  within  a  month  to  set 
forth  to  Jerusalem,  and  there  serve  the  cross 
for  three  years."  The  far-away  Orkney  earl 
succeeded  in  evading  the  penance.  He  had 
the  sea    for    his    friend.     But    the    event    sus- 


SCOTLAND   A    ROMISH  PROVINCE.  1 89 

tallied  with  papal  sanction  the  forces  of  Wil- 
Ham  the  Lion  in  that  quarter  when  he  appeared 
for  the  final  annexation  of  Caithness/ 

The  English  king,  adding  to  his  feudal  pre- 
tensions the  assumption  of  dominion  over  a 
Church  ruled  by  bishops  who  were  created  such 
by  his  own  subjects,  proposed  to  collect  a  tax 
from  the  new  benefices  of  the  neighboring  king- 
dom. The  pope  again  interposed  and  forbade 
him,  on  the  ground  that  such  exaction  from  the 
domains  of  a  foreign  prince  was  unprecedented. 

But  the  pope  meanwhile  was  counting  up  a 
debt  of  revenue  from  Scotland  in  his  own  favor. 
And,  as  occasion  seemed  to  demand,  he  drew 
upon  it.  When  Innocent  IV.  in  1254  wished  to 
persuade  Henry  III.  to  undertake  a  crusade,  he 
offered  him  the  twentieth  of  all  the  benefices 
in  Scotland  as  a  gift  out  of  what  belonged  to 
the  papal  treasury.  The  king  and  clergy 
united  in  this  case  to  evade  both  pretensions. 
They  raised  the  money  themselves,  and,  as  the 
plea  was  a  crusade,  laid  it  out  upon  one  of  their 
own.  A  small  crusading  expedition  left  Scot- 
land under  the  earls  of  Carrick  and  Athole. 
Whatever  came  of  them,  none  returned. 

But  papal  exaction  was  not  always  to  be 
evaded.  Money  was  the  motive-power  of 
the  engine  to  which  Scotland  was  now  at- 
tached, and  it  must  be  collected.    A  valuation 

^  Burton,  ii.  1 1. 


igO  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

of  church  property  had  to  be  made  to  deter- 
mine the  amount  of  the  tax,  and  a  system  of 
legislation  constituted  to  make  its  payment  ob- 
ligatory. A  partial  estimate  of  the  value  of 
church  livings  had  been  made  "as  early  at  least 
as  the  reign  of  William  the  Lion." 

In  1225,  Pope  Honorius  III.,  in  consideration 
of  their  remote  locality,  and  having  no  metro- 
politan to  preside  over  them,  empowered  the 
clergy  of  Scotland  to  hold  national  councils, 
without  special  papal  call  or  presence  of  a 
legate,  "  for  carrying  out  the  decrees  of  gen- 
eral councils  and  other  purposes  of  discipline." 
Such  councils  were  composed  of  all  the  bishops, 
abbots  and  priors,  to  whom  subsequently  "were 
added  representatives  of  the  capitular,  conven- 
tual and  collegiate  clergy."  They  met  once  a 
year,  for  three  days  if  necessary,  and  opened 
their  sessions  with  a  sermon  preached  by  each 
of  the  bishops  in  turn.  "  One  of  the  bishops 
was  chosen  for  a  year  as  conservator  of  the 
canons  or  statutes  of  the  council,  with  power 
to  enforce  them.  The  conservator  also  sum- 
moned the  council,  and  presided  in  it,  or,  in  his 
absence,  the  oldest  bishop.  Two  doctors  of  the 
civil  law  attended  as  representatives  of  the  sov- 
ereign." ^ 

In  such  councils,  between   1237  and   1286,  a 
code  of   ecclesiastical    canons   was    drawn   up, 

'  Dr.  Campbell,  St.  Giles  Lecft/re. 


SCOTLAND   A    ROMISH  PROVINCE.  IQI 

whereby  the  laws  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 
were  made  conformable  to  those  of  Rome. 

"  There  were  also  synods  of  the  clergy 
of  each  diocese,  presided  over  by  their  own 
bishop."^ 

In  1267  the  papal  legate,  Ottobon  Fiesci,  ac- 
credited to  England,  proposed  to  carry  his 
authority  to  hold  a  council  thence  into  Scot- 
land. He  was  not  permitted,  apparently,  lest 
it  might  be  construed  into  an  admission  of  de- 
pendency. He  then  called  the  Scottish  bish- 
ops, with  delegates  from  the  lower  clergy,  to 
meet  him  at  a  council  in  England.  Only  a  few 
were  sent,  and  those  few  to  protest  against  any 
action  affecting  Scotland  taken  by  a  council  in 
England.-  He  further  persisted  in  sending 
them  certain  acts,  which  he  informed  them 
were  to  be  observed  by  the  clergy.  But  the 
king  and  the  bishops  agreed  in  rejecting  them, 
saying  that  "  they  would  acknowledge  no  stat- 
utes but  such  as  proceeded  from  the  pope  or 
a  general  council." 

Again,  in  1275,  another  papal  legate,  Boia- 
mond  de  Vicci,  arrived  from  Rome  with  a  com- 
mission to  estimate  the  value  of  benefices,  and 
to  assess  and  collect  the  tenths  accordingly. 
He  proceeded  by  calling  before  him  succes- 
sively all  the  beneficed  persons  in  the  king- 
dom,  and  causing  them,   upon    oath,   to    state 

^  Dr.  Campbell,  St.  Giles  Lecture.  ^  Burton,  ii.  39. 


192  7' HE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  value  of  the  endowments  upon  which  they 
were  taxed.  The  list  thus  made  up  served 
for  the  then  present  collection,  and  became 
a  law  for  ecclesiastical  taxing  until  the  Refor- 
mation/ 

1  Burton,  ii.  38. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

EXTINCTION   OF   THE  SCOTO-SAXON  DYNASTY. 

ON  the  night  of  the  12th  of  March,  1286, 
King  Alexander  III.,  riding  with  a  small 
escort  along  the  coast  of  Fife  near  Kinghorn, 
was  thrown  from  his  horse  over  a  promontory 
and  killed.  The  only  surviving  member  of  his 
family  was  the  infant  daughter  of  the  deceased 
queen  of  Norway.  A  convention  of  the  es- 
tates assembled  at  Scone  and  elected  a  regen- 
cy to  govern  in  her  name.  It  was  proposed  by 
Edward  I.,  kinor  of  England,  to  form  a  contract 
of  marriage  between  her  and  his  son  Edward ; 
and  for  that  he  obtained  a  dispensation  from 
the  pope,  because  the  parties  were  within  the 
degrees  of  kindred  prohibited  by  the  canon  law. 
The  proposal  was  accepted  by  the  regency,  and 
the  hope  entertained  that  the  peace  of  the  two 
countries,  then  existing,  was  to  be  continued  by 
another  bond  of  affinity  between  their  royal 
houses.  But  all  was  defeated  by  a  final  stroke 
of  that  fatality  which  waited  upon  the  family 
of  Alexander  III.  The  young  queen  died  at 
Orkney,  on  her  way  to  Scodand,  at  the  age  of 
seven  years  (1290). 

IS  iy3 


194  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  lineaee  of  William  the  Lion  was  now 
extinct,  and  the  nearest  heirs  to  the  throne 
were  the  descendants  of  his  brother  David, 
earl  of  Huntingdon,  youngest  son  of  Henry 
of  Northumberland.  But  David  had  left  no 
sons,  and  the  question  of  succession  was  found 
not  easy  to  settle.  Several  candidates  put 
forth  their  claims.  The  nearest  were  two  Nor- 
man noblemen,  Robert  Bruce,  son  of  David's 
second  daughter,  and  John  Baliol,  grandson 
of  his  oldest  daughter.  Lineally  considered, 
Baliol  was  the  nearer.  But  fifty  years  before, 
Alexander  11.,^  while  yet  without  children,  had 
provided  that,  if  he  died  childless,  Bruce  should 
succeed  him,  as  being  then  the  only  male  de- 
scendant of  his  uncle.  Bruce  was  now,  in 
1290,  a  man  advanced  in  years,  and  meanwhile 
a  grandson  had  been  born  to  Earl  David's  old- 
est daughter.  That  grandson  was  John  Baliol. 
Both  were  sustained  by  numerous  adherents. 
Edward,  king  of  England,  was  requested  to 
act  as  arbiter,  and  availed  himself  of  the  occa- 
sion to  promote  the  designs  of  his  own  ambi- 
tion. His  judgment  in  favor  of  Baliol  was  no 
doubt  just  in  Itself,  but  It  was  given  upon  con- 
dition that  Baliol  should  acknowledge  the  king 
of  England  as  lord  superior  of  Scotland,  and 
submit  to  him  in  all  things  belonging  to  that 
relation.       In    complying    with    that    condition, 

'  Burton,  ii.  12. 


EXTINCTION  OF  THE  SCOTO-SAXON  DYNASTY.     I95 

however,  Baliol  did  nothing  worse  than  all  the 
other  nine  candidates,  Bruce  not  excepted, 
had  professed  themselves  willing  to  do.  They 
were  all  of  them  Normans  paternally,  having 
no  more  patriotism  than  belonged  to  the  place 
of  their  residence  and  possessions.  Most  of 
them  had  estates  also  in  England,  for  which 
they  paid  homage  to  Edward,  and  which,  of 
course,  they  were  unwilling  to  forfeit.  At  the 
same  time,  it  must  be  said  of  Bruce  that  he  was 
the  head  of  a  family  which  came  into  the  coun- 
try among  the  very  first  of  his  race,  and  his 
interests  were  identified  with  those  of  Scot- 
land, while  Baliol  had  still  most  of  his  estates 
in  France.  The  collusion  between  the  candi- 
dates and  the  arbiter  was  in  the  interest  of 
their  common  Norman  descent.  In  their  de- 
scent from  Earl  David  there  was  but  little 
Scottish  blood  among  them,  even  from  their 
mothers'  side. 

Baliol  was  crowned  on  the  30th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1292.  For  him  it  was  an  unfortunate 
award.  Popular  detestation  of  the  assumed 
English  superiority,  together  with  the  jealousy 
of  his  disappointed  rivals,  rendered  his  reign 
very  uncomfortable ;  and  the  humiliation  of 
having  to  plead,  in  cases  of  appeal  from  his 
own  court,  before  that  of  his  feudal  superior, 
became  so  grievous  that  before  three  years  had 
elapsed  he  yielded  to  the  national  demand,  and 


196  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

consented  to  an  alliance  with  France  against 
Edward,  and  to  an  invasion  of  England  during 
Edward's  French  campaign  of  1295,  and  finally 
sent  a  renunciation  of  his  vassalage.  When 
that  last  step  was  taken  Edward  had  returned 
from  France,  and  was  in  Scotland  with  a  large 
army.  Baliol  was  forthwith  deposed  and  sent 
into  England.  After  a  few  years  he  was  per- 
mitted to  retire  to  his  estates  in  France. 

The  king  of  England  now  determined  to  abol- 
ish the  Scottish  monarchy  and  annex  the  king- 
dom to  his  own.  The  oath  of  allegiance  was 
demanded  for  himself.  All  the  strong  places 
of  the  country  were  garrisoned  with  English, 
and  upon  his  return  to  London,  in  1296,  he  car- 
ried with  him,  among  other  valuables,  the  cele- 
brated Stone  of  Desdny  upon  which  the  kings 
of  Scodand  were  crowned,^  believing  that  he 
had  reduced  Scotland  to  submission  and  held 
her  fortunes  for  the  future  in  his  hands. 

Bruce,  the  rival  of  Baliol,  died  in  1295.  More 
than  twenty  years  before,  his  son,  of  the  same 
name,  in  a  journey  through  the  west,  traveled 
into  Carrick.  The  countess  of  Carrick,  in  the 
line  of  the  Celtic  lords  of  Galloway,  and  widow 
of  the  earl  of  Carrick,  who  perished  in  the  cru- 
sade, was  enjoying  the  pleasures  of  the  chase. 
Accidentally  meeting  the  young  knight,  whose 

1  This  stone  is  now  in  the  seat  of  the  chair  in  Westminster  Abbey  on 
which  the  British  rtionarchs  are  crowned. 


EXTINCriOX  OF  THE   SCOTO-SAXON  DYNASTY.     1 9/ 

name  and  lineage  were  certainly  not  unknown 
to  her,  she  invited  him  to  join  the  party.  He 
politely  declined.  The  countess,  calling  her 
attendants,  ordered  the  arrest  of  the  tres- 
passer, and,  herself  laying  hold  upon  his  bri- 
dle, with  a  gentle  violence  conducted  him  a 
prisoner  to  her  castle  of  Turnberry.  The 
captivity  proved  far  from  grievous.  In  course 
of  time,  certain  feudal  scruples  being  overcome, 
the  young  Robert  Bruce  became  the  earl  of 
Carrick.  His  son  Robert  was  accordingly  born 
to  the  same  inheritance,  and,  on  his  mother's 
side,  of  the  native  Scottish  race.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  national  troubles  he  was  too  young 
to  take  any  part  in  them.  His  father  never 
entered  the  arena  of  ambition.^ 

Upon  the  removal  of  Baliol  the  immediate 
candidate  for  the  crown  was  Comyn  of  Bade- 
noch,  a  Norman,  who,  in  addition  to  his  own 
claims,  being  the  near  connection  of  Baliol,  in- 
herited also  his.  But  every  claim  of  the  kind 
was  now  set  aside  by  the  act  of  the  king  of 
England  in  assuming  to  govern  Scotland  as  a 
subject  province. 

In  that  lowest  depth  of  the  national  misfortune, 
though  the  nobility  and  their  adherents  submit- 
ted to  what  seemed  inevitable  fate,  the  com- 
monalty never  succumbed.  They  found  a 
fitting  leader  In  one  of   their  own  rank,  Wil- 

^  Robertson's  Scotland^  her  Early  King;,  ii.  109. 


198  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

liam  Wallace,  a  country  gentleman,  who,  by  his 
success  and  daring  and  well-planned  skirmishes 
with  the  enemy,  soon  collected  around  him  a 
large  body  of  followers  and  formed  them  into 
an  efficient  army.  Before  the  end  of  the  year 
1297,  Wallace  had  defeated  the  English  in  the 
field,  reduced  their  garrisons  and  driven  their 
forces  beyond  the  border.  He  was  consti- 
tuted guardian  of  Scotland. 

But  the  nobility  were  jealous,  and  refused  to 
act  under  his  authority  or  to  take  their  orders 
from  him  in  the  army.  The  king  of  England 
returned  in  the  succeeding  summer.  Wallace, 
deserted  by  the  men  of  rank,  who  ought  to 
have  sustained  him,  and  by  the  bodies  of 
troops  whom  they  withdrew,  was  over- 
whelmed by  numbers,  and  the  brave  rem- 
nant of  his  forces  scattered.  Finding  that  he 
could  no  longer  be  of  service  to  his  country  at 
home,  he  retired  to  the  Continent,  where  he  en- 
deavored to  promote  her  interest  in  Paris,  and 
perhaps  also  in  Rome.^  He  had  already  estab- 
lished friendly  relations  with  France  through  his 
agent,  Bishop  Lamberton. 

When  Wallace  withdrew,  the  guardianship 
was  continued  in  the  persons  of  Comyn  of 
Badenoch  and  John  de  Soulis ;  and,  however 
obscure  and  however  oppressed,  there  was  still 
a  government  which  the  Scottish  people  might 

^  Burton,  ii.  202-208. 


EXTINCTION  OF   THE  SCOTO-SAXON  DYNASTY.      1 99 

consider  their  own.  But  at  the  same  time  Eng- 
lish rule  was  set  up  and  enforced  by  English 
troops  over  the  whole  land,  and  to  it  did  the 
nobility  again  formally  submit. 

Subsequently  to  1298  active  hostilities  were 
suspended  for  a  few  years  by  negotiations  be- 
tween France  and  Scotland  on  one  side,  and 
England  and  the  Low  Countries  on  the  other. 
The  Scots  were  well  represented  at  Paris,  and 
also  at  Rome.  Pope  Boniface  VIII.  asserted 
the  justice  of  their  cause.  In  1298  he  sent  to 
King  Edward  a  letter  of  admonition  on  the 
subject,  and  soon  afterward  followed  it  up  with 
a  bull  charging  him  with  violating  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  the  Church  and  kingdom  of 
Scotland,  exposing  the  erroneous  nature  of 
his  claims,  and  asserting  for  Scotland  the  rank 
of  a  free  monarchy,  owing  allegiance  to  the 
Romish  see  alone.  On  that  ground  the  pope, 
as  pastor  of  all  Christians  and  arbiter  of  right 
and  wrong  among  the  nations,  interposed  for 
protection  of  the  injured  country.  The  offend- 
ing king  was  invited,  if  he  had  anything  to  say 
in  defence  of  himself,  to  plead  his  cause  before 
the  papal  court.^ 

The  bull  was  sent  to  the  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  who  was  to  put  it  into  the  hands 
of  the  king.  But  the  king  was  then  away  in 
the   north,   concerned  with   further    operations 

^  Barunius  (Raynaldi  contin.),  Luca  ed.,  vol.  xxiii.  p.  267. 


200  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

against  Scotland.  The  journey  after  him  was 
full  of  danger  and  made  with  long  delays,  and 
before  the  archbishop  could  reach  Carlisle  the 
king  had  already  entered  Scotland  at  the  head 
of  another  destructive  invasion.  When,  final- 
ly, the  papal  epistle  reached  its  destination, 
still  greater  delay  was  created  by  the  king's 
preparation  of  his  plea,  in  which  he  employed 
many  assistants,  and  which  was  designed  per- 
haps to  excite  the  feelings  of  Englishmen 
against  Romish  aggression,  more  than  to  sat- 
isfy the  pope,  whose  right  to  interfere  was  de- 
nied. The  plea  finally  constructed  was  of  the 
most  extraordinary  description,  tracing  the  Eng- 
lish monarchy  in  its  growth  from  the  days  of 
Eli  and  Samuel,  when  it  was  founded  by  a  cer- 
tain Brutus,  who  came  from  Troy,  and,  taking 
possession  of  Britain,  forthwith  divided  it  among 
his  three  sons,  giving  England  to  Locrin,  the  old- 
est, Scotland  to  Albanac,  and  Wales  to  Cam- 
ber. It  was  also  stated  that  the  invariable 
practice  in  Troy  was  that  the  oldest  son  and 
his  descendants  should  rule  the  younger  and 
their  descendants ;  and  that,  farther  down  in 
the  history,  the  great  King  Arthur  appointed 
one  of  his  followers,  called  Anselm,  to  rule  over 
Scotland  ;  and  for  that,  Anselm  did  feudal  hom- 
age to  Arthur  as  his  lord  superior.  Upon  this 
learned  foundation  the  royal  defendant  built 
his  argument  up  to  the  point  on  which  he  him- 


EXTINCTION  OF  THE   SCOTO-SAXON  DYNASTY.     20I 

self  stood,  and  sent  it  to  Rome  in  May,  1301, 
when  he  was  mustering  men  and  material  for 
another  invasion  of  the  country  in  question.^ 

The  papal  admonition  effected  nothing  to- 
ward restraininor  ao^Qrression,  but  it  fortified 
the  Scottish  clergy  and  people  in  the  right- 
eousness of  their  cause.  The  highest  author- 
ity  under  heaven,  as  they  conceived,  had  spo- 
ken in  its  defence.  Thus  encouraged,  the 
nation  put  forth  its  best  efforts  for  the  preser- 
vation of  its  life,  and  to  expose  at  home  and 
abroad  the  injustice  of  the  English  pretension. 
Wallace  also,  it  appears,  returned  from  the 
Continent,  and  animated  as  far  as  lay  in  his 
power  the  resistance  to  oppression.^ 

Within  the  same  years  Philip  of  France,  as 
well  as  Edward,  fell  under  censure  of  the  pope, 
and  succeeded  in  setting  at  naught  the  papal 
admonitions.  Finally,  the  better  to  facilitate 
the  progress  of  their  negotiations  with  each 
other,  the  two  great  kings  abandoned  their 
respective  allies. 

Edward,  thus  relieved  from  his  embarrass- 
ments on  the  Continent,  resolved  to  extino-uish 
for  ever  the  spirit  of  Scottish  independence. 
In  the  spring  of  1303  he  led  the  largest  and 
best  equipped  army  he  ever  mustered  in  a 
third  campaign  to  the  north.  He  swept  almost 
the  whole  length  of  the  land.     All  opposition 

^  Burton,  ii.  208-214,  -  Knight,  xxvii. 


202  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

seemed  to  be  put  down  before  him.  The 
guardians  submitted.  In  their  stead  he  created 
a  new  government.  There  was  now  to  be  but 
one  king  and  one  great  council  for  the  whole 
island.  Scotland  was  to  be  ruled  by  a  lieuten- 
ant and  council  appointed  by  the  Crown.  All 
the  subordinate  departments  were  accordingly 
organized  anew.^ 

The  guardians  and  others  concerned  in  op- 
position to  his  former  arrangements,  the  victor, 
in  the  good  humor  of  success,  punished  lightly, 
but  made  an  exception  of  Wallace.  The  pop- 
ular hero,  now  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemy,  was  carried  to  London,  and  on  the  23d 
of  August,  1305,  put  to  death  with  inexcusable 
barbarity. 

John  of  Bretagne  entered  upon  his  admin- 
istration as  lieutenant,  and  to  appearance  Scot- 
tish independence  was  extinguished.  But  the 
lonor-continued  war  had  added  bitterness  to 
patriotic  persistency  in  the  Scottish  mind,  and 
engendered  a  degree  of  hatred  to  everything 
English,  which  had  not  existed  before.  Later 
severities  had  also  enlisted  that  part  of  the 
Norman  population  who  now  inherited  the 
feelings  of  Scotsmen,  and  Comyn  of  Badenoch 
was  looked  to  by  them  as  the  national  leader. 
But  a  truer  and  more  national  leader  than  he 
— one  who  really  united   in   himself   the    Nor- 

1  Burton,  ii.  229-231. 


EXTINCTION  OF  THE  SCOTO-SAXON  DYNASTY.     203 

man  and  Celtic  elements  of  the  nation — ap- 
peared at  that  juncture. 

Robert  Bruce,  son  of  the  Countess  Margery 
of  Carrick,  and  on  his  father's  death  (in  1305) 
earl  of  Carrick,  and  grandson  of  the  rival 
of  Baliol  for  the  throne,  was  then  living 
in  favor  with  the  English  king.  One  day 
early  in  the  month  of  February,  1306,  it  was 
remarked  that  he  had  disappeared  from  court. 
A  few  days  later  he  presented  himself  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  paternal  estates  in  Dum- 
friesshire.^ Falling  in  with  Comyn  in  the  church 
of  the  Minorites  at  Dumfries,  an  altercation  en- 
sued, in  which  he  stabbed  Comyn  with  his  dag- 
ger— an  act  followed  up  by  one  of  his  attendants, 
Kirkpatrick,  with  more  fatal  wounds.  For  that 
act,  perpetrated  in  a  church,  whereby  sacrilege 
was  added  to  murder,  Bruce  was  soon  absolved 
by  Wiseheart,  bishop  of  Glasgow ;  but  papal 
excommunication  followed,  and  papal  indigna- 
tion continued  many  years  to  be  leveled  against 
him.^  On  the  27th  of  March  he  was  crowned 
at  Scone.  But  misfortune  attended  his  first 
enterprise  in  arms.  Among  the  western  moun- 
tains and  islands  he  found  hiding-places,  and  on 
the  lonely  isle  of  Rathlin,  off  the  coast  of  Ire- 
land, spent  most  of  the  succeeding  winter.  With 
the  spring  he  once  more  appeared  in  the  field. 

The  escape  of  Bruce,  the  enthusiasm  awak- 

^  Lingard,  iii.  275.  *  Ecc.  Chron.  of  Scot.,  ii.  4S6. 


204  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

ened  by  his  appearance  in  Scotland  and  his 
coronation,  provoked  the  king  of  England  to 
the  utmost.  Although  now  old  and  feeble, 
he  resolutely  pushed  forward  with  the  alacrity 
of  youth  preparations  for  a  fourth  campaign 
against  Scotland,  designed  to  take  vengeance 
for  the  death  of  Comyn.  Putting  his  son  Ed- 
ward, prince  of  Wales,  at  its  head,  he  followed 
on  as  the  infirmities  of  disease  permitted,  but 
lived  only  to  come  in  sight  of  Scotland,  and 
died  at  Burgh-on-the-Sands,  July  7,  1307.  His 
successor,  Edward  II.,  was  actuated  by  less  pas- 
sion. After  proceeding  a  few  marches  farther, 
and  finding  no  army  to  encounter,  he  returned 
to  England. 

Another  incursion  of  the  same  kind  followed 
three  years  afterward,  and  a  third  next  year, 
with  the  same  result.  Still,  it  was  the  purpose 
of  the  English  king  to  maintain  his  dominion  in 
Scotland.  John  of  Bretagne  was  succeeded  as 
royal  lieutenant  by  Aymer  de  Valence,  earl  of 
Pembroke,  and  he  by  others.  But  one  garrison 
after  another  was  falling,  while  the  strength  of 
the  resistance  continually  increased. 

With  prudence  and  cautious  enterprise  Bruce 
pursued  his  advantages,  defeating  hostile  High- 
land chieftains,  driving  English  troops  out  of 
Scottish  strongholds,  and  retaliating  invasion 
upon  the  land  of  his  enemy.  In  the  spring 
of  1 31 4  his  brother,   Edward    Bruce,  besieging 


iLXTINCTION   OF   THE   SCOTO-SAXON  DYNASTY.    205 

Stirling,  pressed  the  garrison  to  the  condition 
of  surrender  if  not  reheved  by  the  24th  of 
June.  A  large  and  magnificently  equipped 
English  army  crossed  the  border  a  week  be- 
fore that  date.  Should  it  succeed  in  relieving 
Stirling,  it  would  then  be  in  condition  to  go 
anywhere  over  Scotland  and  undo  all  Bruce's 
work  of  years.  Such  was  the  stake  for  which 
the  battle  was  fought,  in  sight  of  Stirling  Cas- 
tle, at  Bannockburn  on  the  24th  of  June,  1314. 
The  English  forces  were  driven  from  the  coun- 
try. The  independence  of  Scotland  was  secured, 
with  a  native  monarch  once  more  seated  on  her 
throne — a  monarch  not  of  pure  Celtic  blood, 
but  representing  in  his  own  person  all  the 
three  great  ethnic  stocks,  Celtic,  Saxon  and 
Norman,  to  which  by  that  time  her  popula- 
tion also  belonged. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

SCOTLAND'S  RELATIONS   TO   THE  PAPACY  DURIAG 
THE   WAR. 

THESE  events  occurred  when  the  papacy 
was  at  the  summit  of  its  strength.  Mal- 
colm Canmore  was  contemporary  with  Hilde- 
brand,  Pope  Gregory  VII. ;  William  the  Lion 
with  Innocent  III. ;  the  Scottish  war  of  inde- 
pendence began  in  the  pontificate  of  Boniface 
VIII. ;  and  the  coronation  of  Bruce  took  place 
in  the  year  after  the  removal  from  Rome  to 
Avignon — the  beginning  of  papal  decline.    . 

The  subjugation  and  annexation  of  the  Brit- 
ish churches  in  Scotland,  Ireland  and  Wales 
added  to  the  glory  of  the  papacy  when  in  its 
prime.  Through  all  that  period,  until  the  death 
of  Boniface,  the  popes  treated  Scotland  with 
favor,  pursuing  a  policy  designed  to  attach  the 
nation  to  their  cause.  Recognizing  her  as  a 
monarchy  owing  ecclesiastical  allegiance  imme- 
diately to  Rome,  they  assumed  to  be  her  pro- 
tectors from  English  aggression.  Upon  the 
coronation  of  Alexander  III.,  Henry  II.  of  Eng- 
land applied  to  Innocent  IV.  to  forbid  the  sacred 

20G 


RELATIONS    TO  PAPACY  DUPING    THE  IVAP.  20J 

sanction  of  anointing,  but  received  in  reply  a 
courteous  refusal.  Yet  so  little  had  previous 
popes  to  do  with  the  inauguration  of  Scottish 
kings  that  anointing  was  a  new  ceremony  on 
that  occasion.  Nor  was  it  then  thought  in 
Scotland  to  be  essential,  nor  that  the  omis- 
sion of  it  could  in  any  degree  invalidate  the 
solemnity.  King  Robert  Bruce  was  not  held 
to  be  the  less  a  king  that  no  papal  legate  had 
poured  upon  his  head  the  consecrated  oil. 

When  Alexander  III.  died  the  country  had 
enjoyed  a  long  period  of  tranquillity.  For 
border  raids  ordinarily  disturbed  only  the  bor- 
der counties,  and  the  expedition  of  Hakon  was 
a  hasty  dash  which  ravaged  the  western  coasts, 
but  did  no  lasting  injury.  In  the  course  of 
that  long  peace  the  nation  made  great  prog- 
ress in  the  culture  of  the  soil,  a  matter  in  which 
some  houses  of  monks  set  a  good  example,  as 
well  as  in  the  practice  of  various  industrial  arts 
and  in  commerce.  All  the  monasteries  were 
seats  of  education  as  far  as  pertained  to  their 
own  pursuits.  In  them  were  the  schools  for 
the  clergy.  No  university  was  yet  established 
in  the  land.  But  for  Scottish  youth,  desirous  of 
pursuing  their  studies  to  greater  length  than 
the  monastery  course,  Balllol  College  was 
founded  at  Oxford,  about  the  middle  of  the 
reign  of  Alexander  III.  (1268),  by  the  Lady 
Devorglll  of  Galloway.     In  many  of  the  towns 


208  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

also  there  were  schools  for  secular  education, 
some  of  which  attained  an  honorable  reputa- 
tion. Nor  had  the  old  habits  of  popular  relig- 
ious instruction  by  the  Scottish  clergy  been 
abandoned.  Wealth  had  accumulated,  and 
seems  to  have  been  more  equably  distributed 
than  in  England,  or  perhaps  in  any  other  coun- 
try at  that  time.  The  workers  of  the  soil  were 
intelligent  and  comfortably  provided  for.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  w^ar  of  Independence,  the 
common  people  were  w^ell  acquainted  with  the 
interests  at  stake,  and  had  their  own  judgments 
about  them,  unbiased  by  those  of  either  the  no- 
bility or  the  hierarchy.  It  was  in  the  latter  half 
of  the  thirteenth  century  that  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  enjoyed  the  fullest  confidence  of 
the  people  of  Scotland,  and  seems  to  have  de- 
served It. 

In  the  arbitration,  the  prelates,  at  first,  took 
part  with  King  Edward.  Neither  they  nor  the 
nobles  made  any  opposition  to  his  claim  of 
being  overlord.  Erom  the  commons,  however, 
a  response  was  made  which  he  disliked  and 
withheld  from  publication.  Denial  of  his  right 
or  some  remonstrance  against  it  came  first 
from  them.  The  Norman  leaders,  both  lay 
and  ecclesiastic,  w^ere  willing  to  submit.  Many 
of  them  were  liegemen  of  Edward  for  part  of 
their  estates  and  honors,  and  might  as  well  be 
for  all.      Such,   at  least,   seems    to   have   been 


RELATIONS   TO  PAPACY  DURING    THE  WAR.    209 

their  common  feeling  at  first.  Frazer,  bishop 
of  St.  Andrews,  being  of  a  Norman  family, 
attached  himself  to  the  cause  of  Ballol,  which 
at  his  coronation  was  that  of  Edward,  and 
when  Ballol  was  dethroned,  went  abroad  In 
his  Interest,  and  died  there. 

The  native  Scottish  clergy  were  opposed  to 
the  English  pretensions  entirely,  and  In  that 
agreed  with  their  people.  With  a  view  to  ex- 
tinguish that  influence,  working  so  steadily  and 
powerfully  against  him,  Edw^ard  resolved  to  fill 
all  vacancies,  among  the  parochial  and  other 
lower  places  in  the  Church,  with  Englishmen. 
In  1297  he  sent  orders  to  his  lieutenant,  Fltz- 
Allan,  to  that  effect.  The  prelates  could  not 
fail  to  foresee  that,  In  the  prosecution  of  such  a 
policy,  their  order  must  become  alienated  from 
the  people — must  forfeit  the  popular  confi- 
dence, and  be  vlew^ed,  by  those  whom  it  was 
their  office  to  guide  In  spiritual  things,  as  a 
mere  political  agency  oi  a  foreign  power  de- 
signed to  oppress  them.  Prelatic  places,  It  Is 
true,  had  at  an  earlier  time  been  created  and 
filled  with  foreigners,  but  that  had  been  the 
work  of  Scottish  kings  ;  and  those  dignitaries 
did  not  come  Into  immediate  contact  with  the 
common  people,  but  sought  their  security  in 
conciliation  of  the  native  working  clergy,  which, 
in  the  main,  they  seemed  to  have  effected. 
But    now   the  breaking-  of   that   link    between 


u 


2IO  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  prelates  and  the  people- threatened  a  dan- 
ger to  the  whole  structure. 

A  change  took  place  next  year,  when  Wil- 
liam Lamberton  came  to  the  see  of  St.  An- 
drews, if  his  coming  to  it  was  not  a  fruit  of 
the  change,  in  the  uprising  of  the  commonalty. 
He  was  indebted  for  his  promotion  greatly  to 
the  influence  of  William  Wallace.  And  the 
rise  of  Wallace  was  the  rise  of  the  common 
people.  His  victories  were  their  protest,  their 
declaration  of  independence,  which  made  itself 
heard  and  respected.  From  that  date  the 
higher  clergy  as  well  as  the  lower  stood  by 
the  national  cause. 

Lamberton's  first  years  in  office  were  spent 
abroad,  and  Wallace,  after  his  withdrawal  from 
the  guardianship,  appears  to  have  joined  him 
in  representing  the  cause  of  their  country  at 
Paris,  and  probably  also  at  Rome.  He  cer- 
tainly got  credentials  from  King  Philip  to  the 
French  "  representatives  at  the  court  of  Rome, 
recommending  to  them  his  good  friend  Wil- 
liam le  Walois,  of  Scotland,  knight,  and  desir- 
ing them  to  do  what  in  them  lay  to  expedite 
the  business  he  had  to  transact  at  the  court  of 
Rome."^  But  Scotland  had  also  her  publicly 
commissioned  servants  there,  among  whom  was 
William,  archdeacon  of  Lothian,  and  her  inter- 
ests were  well  attended  to.     The  papal  officers 

'  Burton,  ii.  202. 


RELATIONS   TO  PAPACY  DURING    THE  WAR.    211 

concerned  evinced  a  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  state  of  the  case  for  Scotland  as  op- 
posed to  the  pretensions  of  the  king  of  Eng- 
land/ The  papal  admonitions,  as  already  men- 
tioned, received  lltde  honor  from  him  to  whom 
they  were  addressed,  but  they  proved  of  the 
utmost  import  in  reanimating  the  confidence 
of  the  oppressed  people,  and  determining  and 
uniting  the  policy  of  the  Scottish  clergy.  The 
unhesitating  decision  of  Pope  Boniface  VIII. 
gave  assurance  to  both  lay  and  ecclesiastic  in 
the  holiness  of  the  national  cause.  To  Its  in- 
terests the  prelates  thence  onward  remained 
sincerely  attached  to  the  end — sincerely,  but 
not  all  of  them  with  consistent  profession. 
Some  of  the  bishops  and  others  In  conspicu- 
ous places  bent  readily  before  the  storm  of 
invasion,  and  rose  erect  when  it  had  passed. 
On  their  part,  as  well  as  on  that  of  many  lay- 
men, there  were  frequent  alternations  of  alle- 
giance— taking  the  oath  to  Edward  when  he 
came,  and  breaking  it  when  he  went  away. 
Bishop  Lamberton  himself  thus  changed  sides 
five  times.  Wiseheart  of  Glasgow  took  the 
oath  six  times,  violating  It  in  every  interval, 
and  at  last  went  ofT  to  assist  Bruce  with  all 
his  might.  The  war  of  Independence  was  a 
long  and  heroic  contest,  but  was  not  promo- 
tive of  religion  or  morality. 

^  Raynaldus,  contin.  of  Baronius,  vol.  xxiii.,  p.  267,  Luca  ed. 


212  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

It  was  Lamberton  and  Wiseheart,  with  Da- 
vid, bishop  of  Moray,  who  presided  at  the  cor- 
onation of  Robert  Bruce.  The  ceremony  was 
completed  by  the  countess  Matilda  of  Buchan, 
in  place  of  her  brother,  chief  of  the  clan  M'Duff, 
then  in  an  English  prison,  whose  hereditary 
duty  it  was  to  place  the  crown  upon  the  king's 
head.  For  that  act  Lamberton  and  Wiseheart 
were  confined  to  prison,  from  which  they  were 
released  upon  Edward's  death.  For  the  coun- 
tess a  cage  was  prepared  in  the  castle  of  Ber- 
wick, in  which  she  was  confined  four  years.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  she  was  removed  to  less 
severe  confinement,  for  three  years  more,  in 
the  Carmelite  convent  of  Berwick.  Nigel,  a 
younger  brother  of  the  Bruce,  and  some  of  his 
adherents  were  taken  by  the  usurper  and  exe- 
cuted.^ The  part  acted  by  the  pope  until  the 
arrival  of  Bruce  did  much  to  fortify  the  influ- 
ence of  his  office  among  Scotsmen,  and  in- 
spired them  with  a  higher  degree  of  venera- 
tion for  his  person. 

The  war  of  independence  lasted  long,  and 
ere  it  closed  a  change  had  passed  upon  the 
spirit  of  both  parties  in  it,  as  well  as  upon  the 
condition  of  the  papacy.  Edward  II.,  after  his 
rout  at  Bannockburn,  was  no  doubt  earnestly 
desirous  of  peace,  but  refused  to  recognize  the 
national  independence  of  Scotland,  or  to  treat 

^  Lingard,  Hist,  of  England,  iii.  280. 


RELATIONS   TO  PAPACY  DURING    THE   WAR.   213 

the  kino-  whom  she  had  crowned  with  the  honor 
due  to  his  rank.  Bruce  proposed  a  final  settle- 
ment of  peace,  but  when  he  found  Edward  re- 
solved to  refuse  him  the  title  which  acknowl- 
edged the  independence  of  his  country,  he 
broke  off  the  negotiations.  The  warfare 
changed  into  repeated  invasions  of  England, 
not  for  conquest,  but  to  compel  a  recogni- 
tion of  Scottish  independence. 

The  papal  residence  was  now  at  Avignon  in 
France,  to  which  it  had  been  removed,  by  con- 
straint of  Philip  the  Fair,  in  1305,  and  Scotland 
had  for  some  time  no  representative  there. 
Lamberton  was  in  his  old  age,  and  devoting 
his  remaining  strength  to  the  interests  of  the 
Church  at  home,  especially  in  repairing  the 
injuries  which  church  property  had  suffered  in 
the  war,  and  in  completing  his  cathedral  of  St. 
Andrews.  He  also  built  many  new  churches 
and  episcopal  residences  in  various  places.  At 
the  consecration  of  the  completed  cathedral, 
July  5,  1 318,  King  Robert  was  present,  and 
added  an  endowment  of  one  hundred  marks 
annually  out  of  gratitude  "  for  the  illustrious 
victory  which  St.  Andrew  had  afforded  him  at 
Bannockburn."  Lamberton  continued,  never- 
theless, to  take  part  in  the  efforts  for  securing 
peace  with  England.  He  died  in  1328.^  Be 
fore  that  date  his  country  had  again  been  well 

^  Ecclesiastical  Chronicle  of  Scotland,  i.  1 86. 


214  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

represented  at  the  papal  court,  and  was  recov- 
ering favor  there. 

The  Scottish  king  was  under  excommunica- 
tion for  sacrilege,  in  having  slain  Comyn  in  a 
church.  Interest  was  also  made  at  the  papal 
court  to  procure  the  issuing  of  denunciatory 
writs  against  the  people  who  had  rejected  Eng- 
lish rule,  and  persisted  in  so  doing  under  a  sac- 
rilegious leader.  But  the  people  stood  inflexibly 
by  their  beloved  king,  and  paid  no  respect  to  any 
measure  designed  to  degrade  him.  The  national 
clergy  of  every  rank,  being  now  of  the  same  mind, 
would  not  put  the  papal  mandates  in  force. 

The  population  of  Scotland  had  been  both 
sifted  and  welded  in  the  course  of  the  war. 
''The  first  note  of  contest  banished  every 
English  priest,  monk  and  friar  from  the 
northern  realm,"  and  its  termination  was 
followed  by  the  departure  of  the  great  Anglo- 
Norman  lords  who  held  possessions  in  both 
kingdoms ;  ^  while  all  who  felt  their  interests 
identified  with  the  country,  and  their  affections 
enlisted  in  it,  whether  of  British,  Scottish,  Sax- 
on or  Norman  descent,  were  fused  into  one 
nationality.  Under  the  effects  of  a  law  passed 
during  the  war  (1318),  as  well  as  from  the  ne- 
cessities of  the  case,  owners  of  property  in  both 
countries  had  to  part  with  their  estates  in  one 
or  the  other.'-     So  we  lose  sight  of  the  distinc- 

1  Quai-tcyly  Rev.,  June,  1849,  P-  138-  '  Burton,  ii.  306. 


RELATIONS   TO  PAPACY  DURING    THE   WAR.   215 

tions  Pict,  Scot,  Norse,  Saxon,  Briton  and  Nor- 
man, except  In  family  genealogies.  A  common 
love  of  the  land  of  their  birth,  which  they  had 
unitedly  defended  from  oppression  under  a 
leader  whom  they  all  admired,  himself  both 
Celt  and  Teuton,  and  by  exploits  in  war  of 
which  they  all  were  proud,  had  resulted  in 
making  them  all  alike  Scotsmen,  bound  to- 
gether In  a  bond  of  enthusiastic  patriotism 
and  mutual  respect.  Only  one  remnant  of 
ethnic  division  held  its  place  in  the  difference 
between  Highlanders  and  Lowlanders,  which 
continues  to  this  day. 

Papal  opposition  turned  against  Scotland  at 
that  period,  chiefly  between  1306  and  1324. 
Although,  by  the  patriotism  of  the  native  cler- 
gy, of  little  or  no  inconvenience  at  home.  It  was 
a  serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of  all  dealings 
with  forelofn  nations.  In  France  and  the 
Netherlands  It  was  suffered  to  Interfere  very 
little  with  business  ;  but  elsewhere  the  English 
government  made  use  of  it  to  injure  commerce, 
and  procure  denial  of  respectful  treatment  for 
those  whom  they  everywhere  held  up  as  an 
excommunicated  people,  the  followers  of  a 
sacrilegious    and    excommunicated    leader. 

A  full  end  to  the  war  was  not  reached  until 
the  acknowledgment  of  independence  was  se- 
cured. Scotsmen  and  their  king  alike  knew 
that  there  would    be  serious  loss    In   stopping 


2l6  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

short  of  that.  They  must  vindicate  their  stand- 
ing among  nations,  and  leave  no  ground  for  a 
future  usurper  to  build  upon.  And  now  the 
pope,  as  well  as  the  king  of  England,  had  to 
be  persuaded. 

As  Edward  II.  refused  to  treat  with  them  on 
the  footing  of  national  equality,  they  continued 
the  war  by  invading  his  kingdom.  His  north- 
ern counties  were  laid  waste  year  after  year, 
while  he  was  utterly  unable  to  protect  them. 
The  pope  was  persuaded  to  interfere.  He  is- 
sued a  bull  of  peace,  ordering  both  sides  to 
cease  from  fighting  for  two  years.  It  was 
addressed  to  "our  dearest  son  in  Christ,  the 
illustrious  Edward,  king  of  England,  and  our 
beloved  son,  the  noble  Robert  de  Bruce,  con- 
ducting himself  as  king  of  Scotland."  Two 
cardinals  also  arrived  in  England  in  the  au- 
tumn of  that  year  (131 7).  Both  kingdoms 
were  concerned  in  the  business  they  came  to 
transact.  Into  Scotland  they  did  not  go  them- 
selves, but  sent  two  messengers,  who,  as  they 
were  not  permitted  to  address  Bruce  with  the 
title  of  king,  could  accomplish  nothing.  Their 
visit  proved  valuable  only  to  history  by  the 
account  which  they  wrote  of  the  popular  feel- 
ing on  the  question  of  the  time.  A  sealed 
despatch  was  presented  by  them,  addressed 
to  Robert  Bruce,  eovernine  in  Scotland.  The 
king  declined  to  open   it,  except  by  consent  of 


KELATJONS   TO  PAPACY  DURING    THE    WAR.   21/ 

Parliament,  but  that  could  not  be  immediately 
obtained.  He  was  not  the  only  Robert  Bruce 
who  mio^ht  have  somethino-  to  do  in  the  grovern- 
ment  of  the  country.  For  his  own  part,  he  was 
king.  He  also  refused  to  comply  with  their  de- 
mand to  lay  down  his  arms  until  his  own  rank, 
and  therein  the  independence  of  his  kingdom, 
was  fully  recognized.  The  messengers,  more- 
over, as  the  result  of  their  own  observations, 
reported  their  opinion  that,  even  if  the  king  had 
been  willing  to  waive  the  informality,  the  Parlia- 
ment would  not  have  consented. 

A  daring  monk,  Adam  Newton,  undertook  to 
publish  the  bull  in  Scotland.  He  found  the  king 
preparing  for  the  siege  of  Berwick,  and  his  suc- 
cess proving  no  better  than  that  of  the  messen- 
gers, he  applied  for  permission  to  go  among  the 
Scottish  clergy  and  execute  his  mission.  That 
was  not  granted.  The  feelings  of  the  clergy 
were  well  known  to  be  so  fully  enlisted  in  the 
national  cause  that  no  papal  writ  adverse  to  its 
interest  could  be  legally  served  in  the  land. 
The  monk  then  requested  to  be  sent  back  to 
Berwick  under  a  safe-conduct.  But  that  could 
not  be  done,  for  he  had  seen  the  preparations 
for  the  siege.  In  trying  to  find  his  way  back 
by  himself  he  fell  among  robbers,  and  all  his 
documents  were  taken  from  him.^ 

Papal  fulminations  against  Scotland  were  fre- 

1  Burton,  ii.  277,  27S  ;   Linganl,  iii.  314-316. 


2l8  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

quent  in  those  days.  A  new  bull,  adding  to 
previous  offences  the  indignity  done  to  the 
papal  messengers,  was  sent  to  the  cardinals 
with    urcrent    instructions    to    enforce    it,    with 

o 

''  the  personal  excommunication  of  Bruce."  ^ 
But  that  mandate  also,  through  the  faithful 
patriotism  of  the  national  clergy,  was  found 
impracticable. 

The  war  with  England  went  on.  Berwick 
was  taken.  The  English  tried  to  retake  it,  but 
could  not.  Raids  into  England  were  repeated 
with  desolating  effect.  The  papal  peace  was 
not  regarded.  Many  people  in  the  northern 
counties  of  England  began  to  think  seriously 
of  breaking  away  from  their  relations  with  a 
government  which  failed  to  protect  them,  and 
of  seeking  a  connection  with  the  northern  king- 
dom. It  seemed  high  time  that  such  warfare 
should  come  to  an  end.  A  truce  of  two  years 
was  agreed  upon  between  the  parties,  in  hope 
that  it  might  lead  to  a  satisfactory  setdement. 
It  began  on  21st  of  December,  1319. 

The  Scots  also  took  occasion  to  renew  their 
dutiful  relations  to  the  pope.  For,  although  his 
repeated  denunciations  had  hitherto  done  them 
no  harm  at  home,  the  attitude  in  which  they 
were  put  by  the  head  of  the  Church  was  not  a 
desirable  one  in  those  days,  and  might,  on  occa- 
sion of  adversity,  be  calamitous.      It  prevented 

1  Burton,  ii.  277,  278;   Lingard,  iii.  314-316. 


RELATIONS   TO  PAPACY  DURING    THE   WAR.  2I9 

Other  states  from  extending  to  them  the  ordi- 
nary international  courtesies  and  privileges.  In 
a  Parliament  held  at  Arbroath  in  April,  1320,  a 
solemn  address  to  the  pope  was  adopted  explan- 
atory of  the  wrongs  under  which  they  had  suf- 
fered and  the  reasonableness  of  their  present 
demands.  In  the  most  respectful  terms  the 
state  of  the  case  was  clearly  and  forcibly  laid 
before  His  Holiness,  who  was  brought  to  ad- 
monish and  exhort  the  kine  of  Eng-land  to  suf- 

o  o 

fer  the  Scots  to  live  at  peace  under  their  own 
government,  ''  in  their  own  remote  and  obscure 
corner  of  the  world."  On  their  part  they  ex- 
pressed their  willingness  to  agree  with  the  king 
of  England  in  everything  necessary  to  procure 
peace,  as  far  as  not  compromising  their  own 
nationality.  Although  the  document  is  not  in 
the  name  of  any  ecclesiastic,  but  purely  of  lay- 
men, ''  the  barons,  free  tenants  and  whole  com- 
munity of  Scotland,"  it  expresses  entire  and 
cordial  allegiance  to  the  papal  see.^ 

The  statement  had  some  effect.  Denuncia- 
tions ceased,  though  those  issued  were  not 
forthwith  revoked.  An  admonitory  bull  was 
addressed  to  the  king  of  England  in  July  of 
the  same  year.  But  the  result  of  negotiations 
was  not  what  Scotland  demanded,  and  when 
the  truce  expired  the  war  recommenced.  Ed- 
ward, having  settled  certain  domestic  troubles, 

'  Burton,  ii.  283-287. 


220  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

conceived  himself  now  in  condition  to  humble 
this  obstinate  people.  In  August,  1322,  he  led  a 
numerous  army  across  the  border,  and  marched 
northward  as  far  as  the  firth  of  Forth.  But  it 
was  through  a  wilderness.  The  people  had  de- 
serted their  humble  homes,  carried  off  all  their 
goods,  driven  away  their  cattle  and  betaken 
themselves  to  the  mountains.  The  invaders 
were  defeated  by  absolute  famine.  On  their 
retreat  the  Scottish  army  appeared  in  their 
rear,  pursuing  and  harassing  them  far  into 
their  own  country. 

Edward  was  again  constrained  to  negotiate. 
A  truce  for  thirteen  years  was  agreed  upon  at 
Berwick  on  June  7,  1323.  Bruce  was  allowed 
to  take  the  title  of  king,  but  Edward  would  not 
give  it.  This  was  not  satisfactory,  but  was  ac- 
cepted for  the  time  being. 

-  In  order  to  a  better  result  the  head  of  the 
Church  must  be  propitiated.  It  was  in  the 
pontificate  of  John  XXII.  King  Robert  de- 
spatched his  nephew,  Randolph,  earl  of  Moray, 
to  Avignon  to  plead  his  cause  with  the  pope. 
Randolph  conducted  his  embassy  with  delicacy 
and  judgment.  In  January  of  the  next  year 
the  pope  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  king  of 
England,  explaining  how,  by  conversation  with 
the  Scottish  nobleman,  his  knowledge  of  the 
case  had  been  enlarged,  and  that  he  had  con- 
sented to  address  future  "letters  to  Bruce  by 


RELATIONS   TO  PAPACY  DURING    THE   WAR.  221 

the  title  of  king,"  recommending  also  to  Ed- 
ward the  desirableness  of  peace  between  the 
two  countries.  Edward's  reply  was  an  angry 
remonstrance.  But  Randolph,  having  secured 
the  favor  of  the  pope,  had  also,  before  return- 
ing home,  effected  a  highly  important  treaty 
with  France. 

When  Edward  III,  in  1327  succeeded  his 
father  on  the  throne,  he  undertook  to  repel 
the  Scots,  who,  seeing  nothing  done  toward 
the  establishment  of  a  permanent  peace,  had 
renewed  the  war.  For  that  purpose  he  led  a 
large  and  expensive  army  to  the  north.  But 
the  inexperienced  lad,  who  was  afterward  to  be 
hero  of  Creci,  was  as  nothing  in  the  hands  of 
Douglas  and  Randolph,  men  in  the  prime  of 
life  and  of  military  experience.  They  beguiled 
him  from  place  to  place,  reduced  his  army 
without  fiorhtine  a  battle,  and  then  marched 
away  home,  leaving  him  to  disband  his  discom- 
fited host  in  a  singularly  mortifying  way. 

Anything  was  better  than  this.  To  be  de- 
feated so  often  w^as  bad  enough,  but  to  be 
made  sport  of  in  the  field,  and  worried  into 
disaster  by  the  mere  strategy  of  their  enemies, 
and  under  their  ridicule,  was  unendurable. 
Better  admit  their  titles,  and  for  trial  of  prow- 
ess await  a  more  propitious  time.  An  Eng- 
lish Parliament  was  held  at  York  in  January 
of  the  next  year  to  consider  the  question.      Its 


222  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

action  was  followed  by  a  treaty  concluded  at 
Edinburgh  March  17,  and  ratified  by  the  Par- 
liament of  England  at  Northampton  in  April, 
yielding  Scottish  recognition  in  its  full  extent. 
"All  documents  in  possession  of  the  king  of 
England  containing  stipulations  inconsistent 
with  the  independence  of  Scotland  were  de- 
clared void,"  and  were  to  be  given  up  to  the 
king  of  Scots.  The  king  of  England  was  to 
use  his  orood  services  in  the  withdrawal  of  all 
proceedings  in  the  papal  court  prejudicial  to 
Kinor  Robert  or  his  dominion.  The  Scots  were 
not  to  aid  the  Irish  in  case  they  should  rebel, 
nor  were  the  Enorlish  to  aid  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Scottish  islands  in  rebellion  against  the 
king  of  Scots ;  and  Scotland  was  to  pay  twen- 
ty thousand  pounds,  apparently  for  losses  in- 
flicted in  the  late  raids  upon  England.^ 

The  work  of  the  Bruce  was  at  last  complete. 
His  native  land,  rescued  from  oppression,  her 
internal  order  regulated  by  many  wise  enact- 
ments, her  population  united  and  her  character 
fortified  in  self-reliance  by  long-continued  disci- 
pline and  success — so  firmly  united  as  to  stand 
unshaken  even  under  excommunication  and  re- 
peated papal  denunciations — and  with  her  in- 
dependent sovereignty  fully  recognized,  had 
closed  her  protracted  struggle  successfully. 

King  Robert,  reconciled  with  the  Church  of 

^  Burton,  ii.  303,  304. 


RELATIONS   TO   PAPACY  DURING    THE    WAR.    22$ 

Rome  five  years  before  his  death,  beheld  also 
the  re-establishine  of  entire  concord  between 
the  papacy  and  the  church  authorities  of  his 
kingdom.  It  was  also  his  wish  to  lead  or  take 
part  in  a  crusade  for  the  Christian  cause  against 
the  Saracen.  But  his  labors  had  been  so  per- 
sistently demanded  by  affairs  at  home  that  he 
had  never  been  free  to  undertake  the  foreign 
enterprise.  And  before  the  treaty  of  North- 
ampton had  given  him  release  he  was  already 
broken  in  health  by  the  inroads  of  an  incurable 
disease.  He  died  at  Cardross,  near  Dumbar- 
ton, on  the  7th  of  June,  1329.  Lord  James  of 
Douglas,  one  of  his  most  faithful  and  trusted 
companlons-in-arms,  and  doubtless  designed  to 
be  one  of  his  knights  in  the  crusade,  actually 
undertook  it  with  a  few  brave  followers  the 
next  year.  The  king's  heart,  according  to  his 
own  request,  was  carried  with  them  in  a  silver 
casket.  The  papal  bull  of  absolution  "  for  ex- 
tracting the  heart  from  the  body "  and  its  re- 
moval by  Douglas,  in  terms  of  his  master's 
injunction,  declares  the  purpose  "  that  it  might 
be  borne  in  war  against  the  Saracens  "  in  Spain. 
The  crusades  In  Palestine  had  come  to  an  end. 
In  the  service  of  Alphonso,  king  of  Leon  and 
Castile,  at  war  with  Osmyn  of  Granada,  the 
crusader  chose  the  lists  in  w^hich  to  consecrate 
his  latest  heroism.  In  a  certain  battle,  when 
the  Christians  were  hard  pressed  and  threat- 


224  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

ened  with  defeat,  he  threw  the  casket  into  the 
midst  of  the  enemy,  shouting,  "  Onward  as  thou 
wert  wont,  thou  noble  heart !  Douglas  will 
follow  thee."  Victory  must  have  driven  the 
enemy  from  the  field.  For  it  is  added  that  the 
body  of  Douglas  was  found,  and  with  it  the 
casket.  Both  w^ere  taken  home,  Lord  James 
to  be  consigned  to  the  resting-place  of  his 
fathers ;  the  heart  of  the  Bruce  to  sacred  keep- 
ing in  Melrose  Abbey.^ 

1  Burton,  ii.  308;  Weiner,  Vetera  Monumeiiia,  251. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

PAPAL  RELATIONS  OF  SCOTLAND  UNDER  RESTORED 
INDEPENDENCE. 

SCARCELY  was  King  Robert  laid  in  the 
grave  when  the  Norman  nobiHty  of  Eng- 
land, who  had  formerly  held  lands  in  Scotland 
and  had  lost  them  in  the  war,  made  a  push  for 
their  recovery.  First,  they  attempted  to  gain 
their  lost  estates  by  civil  process,  but  it  soon 
appeared  that  nothing  could  be  done  in  that 
w^ay.  The  claimants  then  resolved  to  unite 
their  interests  with  those  of  Edward,  son  of 
John  Baliol,  who  now  pretended  to  the  throne 
of  Scotland.  Like  themselves,  he  was  perfectly 
willing  to  accept  the  king  of  England  as  lord 
superior.  And  why  not  ?  None  of  them  were 
really  Scotsmen.  The  circumstances  were  of 
fortune.  Scotland  was  at  peace,  relying  upon 
the  settlement  of  Northampton,  and  her  king 
was  a  child.  Randolph,  the  regent,  had  just 
died  (July,  1332),  and  his  place  was  occupied 
by  an  inferior  mind,  Duncan,  earl  of  Mar. 
The  adventurers,  putting  Edward  Baliol  at 
their    head    and    raising    a    small    army,    took 

15  225 


226  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

ship  and  landed  on  the  coast  of  Fife.  For- 
tunate enough  to  overcome  the  Scottish  forces 
under  command  of  the  regent,  who  was  slain 
in  the  battle,  they  forthwith  hastened  to  take 
the  city  of  Perth,  and  repelled  another  Scottish 
force  which  pursued  them.  Among  the  Scots 
they  found  friends — men  of  their  own  class — 
ready  to  be  Scots  or  English  as  served  their 
interests  best.  Confident  in  victory,  they 
crowned  their  leader  (Sept.  24,  1332),  and 
went  on  to  organize  a  new  government  under 
the  feudal  superiority  of  England. 

Meanwhile,  Edward  III.  of  Enorland  brouo^ht 
his  army  to  the  north  and  called  a  Parliament 
at  York.  The  question  proposed  was.  What 
degree  of  subordination  should  now  be  en- 
forced upon  Scotland?  While  Parliament 
was  debating  the  two  Edwards  made  a  se- 
cret compact  of  their  own,  whereby  Scotland 
was  to  become  a  fief  of  the  English  crown  ; 
and  each  bound  himself  to  aid  the  other  "with 
all  his  power  against  every  domestic  enemy." 
And  these  conditions  were  "  to  have  been  rati- 
fied by  their  respective  Parliaments." 

But  meanwhile  the  new  regent  of  Scotland, 
Andrew  Murray,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  lib- 
eration army  in  the  days  of  King  Robert,  took 
expeditious  and  effective  means  to  rally  the 
nation  to  its  allegiance.  In  a  few  weeks  the 
stunning  effect  of  the  surprise  had  passed  over. 


PAPAL    RELATIONS   UNDER   INDEPENDENCE.  22/ 

The  Scottish  army  was  organized  anew.  Baliol, 
in  Annandale,  was  receiving  the  submission  of 
the  nobihty  in  the  south,  and  through  secret 
agents  concocting  his  treaty  with  the  king  of 
Encrland.  Archibald  Douorlas,  a  brother  of 
the  deceased  Lord  James,  at  the  head  of  a 
Scottish  force  fell  upon  his  army  in  the  night, 
and  threw  it  into  confusion  and  rout.  Baliol 
leaped  from  his  bed  half  naked,  mounted  a 
horse  without  a  saddle,  and  fled  full  speed  by 
the  nearest  way  across  the  border  into  England 
(Dec.  1 6,  1332).  His  enterprise  had  lasted  in 
all  about  four  months.  It  began  like  a  flash  of 
lightning,  and  ended  like  a  bubble.^ 

The  Scots  followed  up  their  advantage  by  a 
raid  into  England,  which  gave  occasion  to  the 
English  to  charge  them  with  violating  the  treaty 
of  Northampton.  King  Edward  retaliated  by 
openly  supporting  Baliol  with  a  strong  force, 
laying  siege  to  Berwick  and  putting  the  pre- 
tender in  command.  The  Scots,  in  attempting 
to  protect  the  place,  suffered  the  disastrous  de- 
feat of  Halidon  Hill  (1333).  Baliol  was  again 
set  up  as  king,  of  course  only  as  a  vassal  of 
Edward  III.,  to  whom  he  also  ceded  all  of  the 
kingdom  south  of  the  Forth  and  east  of  a  Hne 
from  Linlithgow  to  Dumfries  ;  that  is,  the  Sax- 
on part  of  the  south.  Loyal  Scotsmen  were  en- 
raged and  adhered  the  more  zealously  to  their 

^  Buchanan,  b.  ix.,  king  99th;   Burton,  ii.  316, 


228  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

national  cause.  Upon  the  death  of  Murray  a 
new  regent  was  appointed,  and  again,  through 
a  long  course  of  internal  war,  the  foreign  inter- 
est lost  ground.  Baliol  could  feel  safe  only  in 
the  lands  he  had  ceded  to  England,  as  long  as 
they  were  held  by  English  troops.  When  the 
ambition  of  Edward  III.  found  a  more  promis- 
ing field  in  France  (1338),  Baliol  abandoned 
Scotland,  never  to  return  (1339).  In  1341  the 
heir  of  the  Bruce,  David  II.,  returned  from 
France,  whither  he  had  been  taken  for  his 
education,  and  although  only  seventeen  years 
of  age  assumed  the  government. 

Subsequently,  the  matured  military  skill  of 
Edward  III.  and  of  his  brilliant  son,  the  Black 
Prince,  which  otherwise  might  have  overpow- 
ered Scotland,  was  occupied  with  long-pro- 
tracted wars  in  France,  in  which  Scotland  was 
concerned  only  by  the  conditions  of  her  treaty 
with  the  latter  country.  An  invasion  of  Eng- 
land, undertaken  in  that  cause  in  1346,  when 
Edward  was  in  France,  was  defeated  at  the 
battle  of  Neville's  Cross,  in  which  David  II. 
was  taken  prisoner.  With  some  of  his  nobles 
he  was  carried  to  London  and  committed  to  the 
Tower.  Again  the  government  of  his  king- 
dom was  administered  by  the  abler  hands  of 
the  regent  steward.  A  truce  made  by  Ed- 
ward with  France  included  Scotland,  and  con- 
tinued by  renewals  until   1354. 


PAPAL   RELATIONS   UNDER   INDEPENDENCE.  229 

David  was  ransomed,  and  returned  to  his 
throne  in  1357.  His  reign  was  feeble  and 
unpatriotic,  and  failed  of  doing  permanent 
harm  only  because  in  his  long  absences  the 
wise  and  moderate  steward  filled  his  place, 
and  when  he  was  at  home  the  estates  held  a 
firm  check  upon  his  designs,  which  seem  to  have 
been  far  from  obstinate.  When  he  died  (Feb. 
22,  1370)  Robert  Allan,  or  Fitz  Allan,  his  sis- 
ter's son,  and  hieh  steward  of  Scotland,  sue- 
ceeded,  according  to  the  arrangement  made  by 
king  and  Parliament  more  than  fifty  years  be- 
fore. So  lono^  had  the  office  of  steward  been 
retained  in  his  family  that  its  title  had  become 
his  surname,  and  so  well  had  he  exercised  the 
powers  of  royalty  as  regent  that  nothing  save 
the  title  and  honors  of  king  remained  to  be 
added  to  what  he  had  already  worn. 

The  reign  of  Robert  II.,  first  of  the  Stewart 
dynasty,  corresponded  with  the  last  seven  years 
of  the  reien  of  Edward  III.  and  those  of  Rich- 
ard  II.  to  1 390.  It  was  followed  by  that  of  his 
son  John,  which  continued  until  1406.  But 
such  was  the  disfavor  in  which  the  name  John 
was  held,  from  hatred  to  the  elder  Baliol,  that 
John  Stewart  at  his  coronation  took  the  name 
of  his  father  and  great-grandfather,  and  counts 
as  Robert  III.  on  the  list  of  Scottish  kings. 

It  was  from  the  reign  of  Robert  Bruce,  and 
through  those   of  his   son   and  grandson,  that 


230  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  sentiments  and  customs  of  chivalry  entered 
most  deeply  into  the  character  of  English  and 
Scottish  warfare,  as  depicted  by  Froissart  and 
illustrated  by  the  adventures  of  Douglas  and 
Randolph,  of  Edward  III.  and  the  Black  Prince, 
in  the  earlier  part  of  the  period,  and  of  the 
Douglases  and  Percys  toward  the  end  of  it. 

The  records  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
in  Scotland  during  these  reigns  are  of  no  spir- 
itual import  whatever.  Concerned  solely  with 
successions  of  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  with 
facts  of  their  temporal  interests,  their  ambi- 
tions, jealousies,  quarrels,  honors,  revenues, 
scarcely  can  an  allusion  to  the  state  of  relig- 
ion be  gathered  from  their  pages.  We  read 
of  bishops  building  cathedrals  and  managing 
affairs  of  state,  but  rarely  of  preaching  the  gos- 
pel.^ Of  the  parish  work  no  mention  is  made 
at  all. 

For  England,  the  last  two-thirds  of  the  four- 
teenth century  was  a  period  of  great  distinc- 
tion, from  her  victories  in  France  and  Spain, 
but  still  more  from  the  rise  of  her  native  liter- 
ature, and  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation  in  re- 
ligion. It  was  the  time  of  Chaucer  and  Wyc- 
liff.  In  Scotland  there  was  a  similar  literary 
progress.  It  had  been  preceded  by  the  learn- 
ing of  Michael  Scot,  of  Thomas  of  Ercildoun 
and  John  of  Dunse,  the  last  of  whom  died  in 

^  Ecc.  Chron.  in  the  fourteenth  centiay. 


PAPAL    RELATIONS   UNDER   INDEPENDENCE.  23 1 

1308.  John  Barbour,  author  of  the  celebrated 
poem  on  the  adventures  of  the  Bruce,  and  John 
of  Fordun,  earHest  of  the  general  historians 
of  Scotland,  lived  at  the  same  time  with  Chau- 
cer and  Wycliff.  Barbour  and  Fordun,  how- 
ever, unlike  their  English  contemporaries,  seem 
to  have  entertained  no  disposition  toward  a  re- 
ligious reformation. 

From  causes  already  recounted,  papal  au- 
thority, declining  in  some  other  quarters,  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  increased  in  Scotland.  To 
counteract  the  intrusion  of  England  the  king 
and  the  higher  clergy  favored  immediate  rela- 
tions with  Rome.  The  papal  animosity,  from 
1306  to  1324,  was  a  perfectly  rational  exception 
on  both  sides.  Bruce  had  been  guilty  of  what 
the  Church  could  not  regard  as  other  than  a 
crime  of  the  highest  magnitude.  A  right-mind- 
ed pope  could  not  fail  to  brand  it  with  the  se- 
verest censure,  nor  to  continue  what  penalty 
his  office  was  capable  of  inflicting,  as  long  as 
it  was  unabsolved.  Aggravating  misrepresen- 
tations, made  persistently  by  the  king  of  England 
touching  the  whole  Scottish  nation,  prolonged 
untruthfully  that  state  of  the  case,  and  must 
have  justified  the  popes  of  those  years  in  their 
own  eyes  while  keeping  the  ban  upon  the  fol- 
lowers of  a  sacrilegious  chief.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  king  and  people  of  Scotland,  involved 
in  a  struggle  for  existence,  the  desperate  pit- 


2^2  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

ting  of  the  skill  and  endurance  of  a  few  against 
surpassing  numbers  of  equal  valor  and  some- 
times not  inferior  skill,  left  no  breathing-time 
for  explanations.  Before  time  could  be  given 
to  satisfy  the  censor  of  the  true  state  of  the 
case,  life  must  be  secured.  Every  man  compe- 
tent to  such  negotiation  was  needed  at  home. 
As  soon  as  such  a  man  could  be  spared  he  was 
delegated,  in  the  person  of  Thomas  Randolph, 
to  counteract  the  slanders  accumulated  at  the 
papal  court.  The  subsequent  rescripts  of  John 
XXII.  testified  to  his  restored  favor.  To  the 
same  pontiff  King  Robert  Bruce,  in  his  last 
illness,  sent  messengers  to  request  "  that  the 
bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  who  had  been  in  use 
to  invest  the  Scottish  kings  with  the  ensigns 
of  royalty,  might  thenceforth  be  authorized  by 
the  pope  to  crown  and  anoint  them."  The  re- 
quest was  granted,  and,  in  1331,  David  Bruce 
was  the  first  Scottish  sovereign  crowned  with 
papal  solemnities.^ 

The  bull  of  John  XXII.  granting  to  Bishop 
Bane  and  his  successors  in  St.  Andrews  the 
right  to  anoint  the  kings  of  Scotland,  orders 
also  that  at  their  coronation  the  kings  shall 
take  their  *'  corporal  oath  that  they  will  bona 
fide  study  to  exterminate  from  their  kingdom, 
and  all  other  places  subject  to  their  authority, 
all    such    heretics    as    are    denounced    by    the 

^  Ecc.  Chron,  of  Scot,,  i.  190. 


PAPAL    RELATIONS   UNDER   INDEPENDENCE.    233 

Church ;  and  they  will  not  presume  to  injure 
or  diminish  the  rights  of  the  Church,  but  rather 
preserve  them  untouched."^ 

Upon  Edward  Baliol's  invasion,  Bishop  Bane 
fled  into  Flanders,  where  he  died  at  Bruges, 
September  22,  1332.  On  that  occasion  Edward 
III.  wrote  to  the  pope,  desiring  him  to  conse- 
crate an  Englishman  for  St.  Andrews,  and  rec- 
ommended his  own  treasurer,  Robert,  archdea- 
con of  Berks.  The  pope  took  no  notice  of 
the  application.  But  Edward's  letter  is  ex- 
tant.^ To  be  safe  on  both  sides,  some  plea 
was  found  by  the  court  at  Avignon  for  with- 
holding consecration  of  a  bishop  for  St.  An- 
drews, until,  at  the  end  of  nine  years,  the  king 
of  France  united  with  the  king  of  Scotland  in 
soliciting  the  promotion  for  William  Landel, 
who  entered  upon  office  in  1341.  "During 
that  vacancy  Edward,  king  of  England,  seized 
the  estate  of  the  bishopric,  without  regarding 
the  title  which  his  vassal  Edward  Baliol  might 
have  had  to  it."^  Thus  the  highest  places  in 
both  Church  and  State  were  acknowledged  to 
be  indebted  to  the  pope  for  their  most  solemn 
sanction. 

Scotland  was,  upon  the  whole,  a  favored 
province  of  the  papal  empire,  and  enjoyed,  at 
some  important  junctures,  its  invaluable  pro- 
tection, and  regarded  it  with  loyal  attachment. 

*  Ecc.  Chron.  of  Scot.,  i.  192.  2  ibid.,  195.  •''  Ibid. 


234  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Countries  in  which  a  relation  to  the  Church  of 
Rome  had  grown  up  spontaneously  from  the 
earliest  times  had  also  their  hereditary  episco- 
pacy of  native  growth,  with  hereditary  privi- 
leges. In  Scotland  the  episcopal  system  was 
introduced  by  royal  policy  from  abroad.  The 
first  diocesan  bishops  were  foreigners,  and  for 
support  took  refuge  in  the  foreign  powers  from 
which  they  came.  Over  against  that,  the  king 
and  native  placemen  sought  protection  from 
the  pope.  When,  in  the  course  of  time,  all 
placemen  were  native,  the  national  Church 
stood  related  to  the  Roman  immediately  and 
without  reserve. 

In  the  old  British  and  Columban  churches 
the  first  duty  of  the  clergy  was  instruction.  Nor 
afterward,  under  the  papal  rule,  was  that  duty 
entirely  neglected  in  the  parishes.  It  is  stated 
by  Burton  that  in  almost  all  periods  of  the  his- 
tory of  Scotland  whatever  documents  deal  with 
the  social  condition  of  the  people  reveal  also 
a  machinery  for  education,  always  abundant 
when  compared  with  any  traces  of  art  or  other 
elements  of  civilization.  The  genealogy  of 
education  in  that  country  must  be  carried  down 
from  its  earliest  Christian  churches.  The  doc- 
trines and  facts  of  Scripture  formed  the  pop- 
ular instruction  of  the  old  British  and  Irish 
churches,  from  which  the  Scottish  was  descend- 
ed.    At  the  same  time,  it  can  hardly  be  doubt- 


PAPAL   RELATIONS   UNDER   INDEPENDENCE.   235 

ed  that  parochial  instruction  was  greatly  im- 
paired, if  not  broken  down,  in  some  places  in 
the  long  and  desolating  wars  which  followed 
the  death  of  Alexander  III. 

No  movement  for  reformation,  like  that 
headed  by  Wycliff  in  England,  appears  among 
the  Scottish  clergy  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
Yet  among  the  common  people,  especially  in 
the  West,  and  some  of  the  parish  clergy  a  de- 
mand of  that  nature  was  very  likely  operating 
quietly  as  an  inheritance  from  earlier  times, 
preparing  the  way  for  that  dissent  of  the  so- 
called  Lollards  of  Kyle  which  broke  out  in  the 
succeeding  century.^  As  late  as  the  accession 
of  James  Bane  to  the  bishopric  of  St.  Andrews 
(1328)  the  Culdee  society  of  that  church  was 
still  in  existence  and  asserted  its  right  to  elect 
the  bishop.^  If  such  was  the  case  at  the  very 
head  of  the  Romish  organization  for  the  king- 
dom, it  is  not  unlikely  that  among  out-of-the- 
way  parishes  in  the  West,  where  the  old  Church 
had  its  original  strongholds,  more  of  its  earlier 
spirit  may  have  remained.  The  revolution  to 
Romanism,  so  far  as  the  laity  and  parochial 
clergy  were  concerned,  pertained  only  to  sys- 
tem of  government  and  ecclesiastical  allegiance. 
If  these  were  satisfactory.  It  was  a  matter  of 
little  moment  to  the  rulers  how  pious  or  well- 
informed  were  the  country  parishes  and  their 

'  Intro,  to  Knox's  Hist.  ^  Ecc.  Chyon.  i.  189. 


236  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

priests.  And  yet,  from  a  sentence  in  the  re- 
script touching  the  coronation  of  David  11. ,  the 
pope  appears  to  have  had  a  suspicion  of  such 
freedom  being,  in  some  quarters,  indulged  too 
far. 


CHAPTER   X. 

PROGRESS  OF  EDUCATION.— RISE  OF  THE  SCOTTISH 
UNIVERSITIES. 

JAMES,  the  only  surviving  son  of  Robert  III., 
left  Scotland  in  the  year  1405,  on  his  way 
to  France,  where  it  was  designed  that  he  should 
complete  his  education.  When  off  Flambor- 
ough  Head,  the  ship  in  which  he  sailed  was 
captured  by  an  English  squadron,  although 
the  two  countries  were  then  at  peace,  and  he 
was  carried  to  London  and  confined  in  the 
Tower.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  was  re- 
moved to  Nottingham  Castle,  from  which  (in 
1 41 3)  he  was  taken  back  to  the  Tower  of 
London,  and  ere  the  close  of  that  year  trans- 
ferred to  Windsor  Castle.  Carried  to  France 
by  Henry  V.  on  one  of  his  expeditions,  he  was 
again  remanded  to  Windsor  Casde,  and  there 
remained  to  the  end  of  his  long  imprison- 
ment. 

King  Robert  III.  died  in  April,  1406.  His 
brother,  the  duke  of  Albany,  became  regent, 
and  at  his  death,  in  141 8,  the  same  ofhce  passed 
into  the  hands  of  his  son,  no  earnest  effort  ap- 
parendy  having  been  made  for  the  liberation  of 

2.S7 


238  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  young  king,  In  whose  name  the  government 
was  conducted. 

As  the  ambition  of  EngHsh  kings  in  regard 
to  Scotland  was  only  to  have  it  annexed  to 
their  own  dominion,  they  had  no  motive  to 
treat  with  harshness  a  captive  king  whom 
they  might  hope  to  win  over.  To  furnish  him 
with  all  means  of  education  which  the  times 
possessed  was  perfectly  consistent  with  the 
purpose  for  which  he  was  retained  in  custody. 
James  made  good  use  of  all.  In  his  long  dur- 
ance of  eighteen  years  he  became  the  best- 
educated'  prince  of  his  time.  In  literature,  in 
philosophy  and  law.  In  music  and  poetry,  he 
excelled.  Nor  was  he  prohibited  the  practice 
of  such  manly  exercises  as  were  consistent  with 
the  nature  of  the  constraint  under  which  he  was 
held.  The  poem  called  the  "  King's  Quair,"  in 
which  he  sings  of  his  calamities  and  of  his  love 
for  a  lady  casually  seen  from  the  window  of  his 
prison,  is,  without  any  allowance  for  the  royal 
rank  of  the  author,  the  finest  poem  of  its  time 
in  the  English  language.  Nor  did  he  fail,  after 
the  death  of  his  uncle,  the  duke  of  Albany,  to 
make  his  influence  felt  in  the  politics  of  Scot- 
land. From  Henry  V.  he  received  the  most 
respectful  treatment  that  could  be  extended  to 
a  captive. 

After  Henry's  death,  and  the  misfortunes  of 
the  English  In  France  began,  it  was  expedient 


FJiOGKESS    OF  EDUCATIOX.  239 

to  come  to  better  terms  with  Scotland.  James, 
by  proposal  of  the  English  council,  was  released 
upon  ransom  or  pay  for  his  maintenance,  and  on 
condition  of  a  truce  of  seven  years  between  the 
two  countries,  and  that  he  should  forbid  his  sub- 
jects to  enter  the  French  service.^  When,  be- 
fore his  return,  it  was  thought  desirable  that  he 
should  be  allied  in  marriage  with  the  English 
royal  family,  it  was  found  that  the  heroine  of 
the  "  King's  Quair,"  to  whom  his  heart  was  al- 
ready devoted,  was  no  other  than  the  Lady  Jane 
Beaufort,  daughter  of  the  earl  of  Somerset  and 
cousin  of  Henry  V.  With  his  queen  and  a 
splendid  escort  James  took  his  way  northward. 
He  was  met  by  a  royal  company  on  the  border 
of  Scotland,  and  crowned  at  Scone  on  the  21st 
of  May,  1424. 

During  the  long  time  of  the  regency,  the  usur- 
pations of  a  rapacious  and  haughty  nobility  had 
encroached  oppressively  upon  both  the  commons 
and  the  Crown.  James  put  forth  every  effort  to 
establish  an  equal  balance  of  rights,  to  assert  the 
royal  authority  over  the  land  and  to  improve  the 
condition  of  the  people.  At  the  same  time,  he 
lived  in  a  simple,  accessible  way,  seeking  intelli- 
gence of  the  wants  of  all  classes,  and  open  to 
the  presentation  of  all  grievances.  With  the 
unguarded  openness  of  a  brave  man  he  trusted 
too  far  to  the  intrinsic  merits  of  his  eovernment, 

^  Lingard,  v.  6i  ;  Burton,  ii.  397. 


240  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

believing  that  its  public  benefits  would  recom- 
mend it.  The  selfish  malignity  of  a  few,  who 
deemed  themselves  aggrieved  by  those  meas- 
ures of  public  advantage,  found  therefore  but 
little  obstacle  in  its  way.  A  body  of  assassins 
broke  into  the  monastery  at  Perth,  where  he  was 
temporarily  residing,  and  slew  him  in  the  midst 
of  his  family.  It  was  on  the  evening  of  the  loth 
of  February,  1436.  National  indignation  was 
fiercely  expressed  in  the  long  and  loud  condem- 
nation of  the  murderers,  and  in  the  elaborate 
punishments  inflicted  on  them. 

The  reign  of  James  I.  constitutes  an  epoch 
in  the  history  of  Scottish  legislation,  education 
and  literature.  The  plans  of  the  king  were 
sustained  by  the  Church,  which  fully  appreci- 
ated the  value  of  improvements  falling  in  with 
a  progress  of  her  own.  Legislation  was  the 
principal  field  of  the  king's  own  efforts.  He 
called  frequent  Parliaments,  and  kept  them 
busy.^  Effects  proceeded  thence  to  all  other 
departments  of  national  culture,  and  James's 
own  example  of  high  education  and  literary 
accomplishment  recommended  to  popular  favor 
pursuits  which  otherwise  were  gaining  ground 
in  public  esteem. 

In  Scotland  education  was,  in  the  first  in- 
stance and  for  many  centuries,  entirely  the 
work   of  the   Church,   and    literary  men   were 

^  Burton,  ii.  399. 


PROGRESS   OF  EDUCATION.  24 1 

churchmen.  King  James  I.  was  the  earhest 
author  of  any  note  among  laymen.  For  min- 
isters of  rehgion  ability  to  read  and  write  the 
Latin  language  was  required,  and  a  competent 
knowledge  of  the  Latin  version  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  in  addition  to  all  that  they  were  ex- 
pected to  impart  to  the  people.  For  that  pur- 
pose had  the  Columbite  colleges  been  contin- 
ued, until  supplanted  by  the  Romish  monas- 
teries. These  latter,  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
were  actuated  by  an  all-pervading  zeal  for 
knowledge  and  intellectual  training.  By  the 
opening  of  the  four«teenth  century  a  stage  had, 
in  some  countries,  been  reached  preparing  the 
way  for  the  culture  of  the  modern  tongues. 
In  Scotland  the  war  of  independence  greatly 
retarded  that  progress.  That  it  was  not  en- 
tirely stopped  was  due  to  the  Church,  in  her 
old  hereditary  capacity  of  instructor,  maintain- 
ing a  degree  of  popular  intelligence.  Although 
the  rise  of  a  native  literature  was  not  at  first 
so  abundant  as  in  England,  it  was  more  purely 
national  The  works  of  Barbour  and  Wynton 
are  concerned  with  purely  Scottish  themes. 
With  the  exception  of  the  "  King's  Ouair," 
such  also  are  the  poems  attributed  to  James  I. 
What  is  called  the  English  language  grew  up 
simultaneously  in  England  and  the  Lowlands 
of  Scotland. 

In  the  liberalizing   tendency  which    affected 

16 


242  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  church  schools  generally  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  Scotland,  though  behind,  came  in  for 
a  share  before  the  century  closed ;  but  in  the 
next  century  her  literary  rank  became  conspic- 
uous, even  above  that  of  her  southern  neighbor. 
There  are  no  statistics  of  education  "  suf- 
ficient to  afford  an  Idea  of  the  number  of 
schools  In  the  country,"  or  the  subjects  taught 
In  each,  down  even  to  the  Reformation.  "  But 
in  documents  much  older  than  the  war  of  inde- 
pendence the  school  and  the  schoolmaster  are 
familiar  objects  of  reference."  They  occur 
In  connection  with  business  of  the  religious 
houses.  The  schools  consisted  of  two  classes 
— parish  schools  and  the  monastic  schools  de- 
voted to  preparation  for  clerical  ofhce,  the  first 
care  being  to  provide  public  instruction  In  prac- 
tical religion.  Separate  institutions  for  secular 
education  were  the  growth  of  a  later  time.  In 
the  fifteenth  century  mention  occurs  of  schools 
attached  to  the  borough  corporations,  which 
were  called  orrammar  schools,  In  w^hich  instruc- 
tlon  was  continued  as  far  as  a  good  practical 
knowledge  of  L.atin.  An  act  of  Parliament  pass- 
ed In  1496  enacted  that  through  all  the  king- 
dom the  eldest  sons  and  heirs  of  barons  and 
freeholders  should  be  continued  at  the  gram- 
mar school  "until  they  be  completely  founded 
and  have  perfect  Latin,"  and  after  that  to  attend 
the  schools  of  art  and  law  three  years.     Com- 


PROGRESS   OF  EDUCATION.  243 

pliance  with  that  statute  was  to  be  enforced  by 
a  fine  of  twenty  pounds  upon   failure. 

^duc3.\Aon  for  the  people  has  always  in  Scot- 
land taken  precedence  of  education  for  the 
few. 

The  earliest  Scottish  university  was  founded 
at  St.  Andrews  in  1410  by  Bishop  Wardlaw, 
and  received  the  sanction  of  Pope  Benedict 
XIII.  in   141 3. 

During  the  papal  schism,  when  from  1378 
there  were  two  rival  lines  of  popes,  one  at 
Rome  and  the  other  at  Avignon,  and  from 
1409  a  third  at  Pisa  or  Bologna,  Scotland  ad- 
hered consistently  to  the  pope  at  Avignon. 
It  was  the  Avignonese  pope  w^ho  gave  his 
sanction  to  the  University  of  St.  Andrews. 
But  next  year  the  Council  of  Constance  met, 
which  deposed  all  three  popes  and  elected  an- 
other— namely,  Martin  V.,  who  was  to  be  sole 
pope.  Benedict  XIII.,  unwilling  to  submit,  re- 
tained his  papal  court  and  as  many  adherents 
as  he  could  persuade,  until  his  death.  The  ac- 
tion of  the  council  was  communicated  to  Scot- 
land by  the  abbot  of  Pontiniac,  who  had  audi- 
ence given  him  in  a  large  assembly  of  the  cler- 
gy at  Perth.  On  that  occasion  Benedict  was 
also  represented  by  one  Harding,  a  Franciscan 
monk,  w^ho  made  a  long  address  upon  the 
theme,  "  My  son,  do  nothing  without  advise- 
ment;    so    shall    it    not   repent   thee   after  the 


244  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

deed,"  in  which  he  labored  to  prove  the  in- 
formality of  the  council  and  that  none  were 
under  obligation  to  comply  with  its  decrees, 
and  that  Benedict  XIII.  was  still  entitled  to  the 
allegiance  of  the  Christian  world.  To  that 
plea  answer  was  made  by  John  Fogo,  a  monk 
of  Melrose,  who  from  the  text,  "Withdraw 
yourselves  from  every  brother  who  walketh 
disorderly,"  refuted  Harding's  arguments,  and 
showed  that  the  supporter  of  him,  who  pre- 
tended to  be  pope  in  opposition  to  the  council, 
was  a  disturber  of  the  peace  of  the  Church. 
The  assembly  resolved  to  accept  the  action 
of  the  council,  and  Scotland  once  more  fell 
into  line  with  the  adherents  of  the  pope  of 
Rome. 

The  Church  of  Scotland,  which  for  five  hun- 
dred years  held  little  or  no  connection  with 
Rome,  had  now,  through  the  course  of  events 
already  recounted,  before  the  opening  of  the 
fifteenth  century  become  one  of  the  most  close- 
ly dependent  upon  it.  Rome  had  been  propiti- 
ated as  an  ally  against  England ;  the  metropol- 
itan pretensions  of  York  had  been  encountered 
with  the  arms  of  papal  authority ;  Scottish  sov- 
ereignty had  been  recognized  by  the  pope,  and 
its  recognition  enjoined  by  him  upon  the  king, 
of  England ;  and  papal  favor,  though  not  al- 
ways consistent,  had  been  sought  in  the  dan- 
gerous conflict  with  a  near  and  stronger  power. 


PROGRESS   OF  EDUCATION.  245 

In  the  fifteenth  century  the  attitude  of  England 
became  less  threatening ;  both  countries  were 
too  much .  occupied  with  internal  troubles  to 
have  much  strength  to  spare  for  harassing 
each  other.  The  long  minorities  of  James 
II.,  James  III.  and  James  IV.,  with  the  brevity 
of  their  personal  reigns,  gave  occasion  to  an 
exaggerated  growth  of  power  in  some  of  the 
great  aristocratic  families  of  Scotland,  the 
Douglases,  Hamiltons,  Dunbars  and  others, 
among  whom  it  was  a  matter  of  no  common 
difficulty  for  the  monarch  to  maintain  his  ascend- 
ency. Englishmen  were  wholly  engaged  with 
their  wars  in  France,  and  afterward  with  those 
of  York  and  Lancaster  among  themselves,  and 
the  succeeding  policy  of  Henry  VII.  of  England 
was  wisely  pacific.  The  frequent  conflicts  be- 
tween northern  and  southern  inhabitants  of  the 
border  were  only  local  and  predatory  raids. 
Through  most  of  the  century  the  Scottish  hier- 
archy, absorbed  in  its  own  rivalries  and  ambi- 
tions, took  little  concern  to  scrutinize  the  opin- 
ions of  obscure  people.  Not  that  heresy  was 
deemed  harmless — it  was  punished  with  the 
severest  penalty  when  discovered — but  in  the 
press  of  more  imminently  threatening  dangers 
and  more  exactino-  interests  it  no  doubt  often 
escaped  attention.  Dissenters  existed  in  both 
countries  without  much  public  notice  being 
taken  of  them;  and  yet  not  all  with  impunity. 


246  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  highest  places  In  the  Church  of  Scotland 
were  now  in  the  gift  of  the  king  and  the  pope, 
while  their  large  revenues  rendered  them  ob- 
jects of  ambition  for  the  nobility.  Wealth, 
possession  of  power,  and  impunity  in  luxuri- 
ous indulgence  were  producing  effects  which, 
in  course  of  time,  became  scandalous.  Bishops 
whose  temporal  interests  were  but  slightly  af- 
fected by  discharge  of  duty,  and  very  much  by 
hierarchical  policy,  were  tempted  to  neglect  the 
care  of  souls,  to  look  after  their  own  revenues 
and  pleasures.  In  such  cases,  the  men  put  into 
parishes  as  pastors  were  such  as  suited  the 
worldly  views  of  those  who  appointed  them. 
The  moral  character  of  the  clergy,  upon  the 
whole,  degenerated.  It  became  worldly,  and 
religious  service  formal.  Preaching  ceased  to 
be  considered  the  duty  of  a  pastor.  It  was  not 
expected  of  a  bishop.  Spirituality  abandoned 
the  routine  of  services  which  made  no  demand 
on  either  mind  or  heart. 

In  that  state  of  general  ecclesiastical  unfaith- 
fulness, there  were  still  traditions  of  a  better 
time,  and  rumors  came  of  reforms  being  at- 
tempted elsewhere.  Among  the  best  informed 
of  the  parishioners  some  were  found  to  sympa- 
thize with  the  English  and  Bohemian  dissent- 
ers. In  the  year  1408,  James  Resby,  an  Eng- 
lishman and  follower  of  Wycliff,  was  arrested 
in  Scotland  for  teaching  doctrines  contrary  to 


PROGRESS   OF  EDUCATION.  247 

those  of  the  Catholic  Church.  He  was  charged 
by  Lawrence  of  Lindores,  president  of  a  coun- 
cil of  the  clergy,  as  guilty  of  forty  heretical 
opinions.  Only  two  have  been  recorded — 
namely,  that  the  pope  was  not  the  vicar  of 
God,  and  that  no  man  could  be  rightly  es- 
teemed pope  if  he  was  of  a  wicked  life.  For 
those  opinions  he  was  burned  to  death  at 
Perth,  under  authority  of  the  regent,  the 
duke  of  Albany. 

Other  critics  of  prevailing  doctrines  and 
clerical  practices  arose ;  nor  is  it  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  every  such  dissenter  came  under 
the  notice  of  a  bishop  or  informer.  The  writer 
who  records  the  execution  of  Resby  states  also 
that  "  the  opinions  and  books  of  Wycliff  are 
entertained  by  several  Lollards  in  Scotland, 
but  in  extreme  secrecy,"  and  that  "  they  sel- 
dom or  never  are  restored  to  the  bosom  of  the 
faith."  One  whose  name  is  not  mentioned  was 
burned  for  heresy  at  Glasgow  in  1422  ;  and 
Paul  Craw,  the  more  conspicuous  for  being  a 
foreigner,  was  condemned  for  heretical  opinions 
touching  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
the  adoration  of  saints  and  auricular  confession, 
and  burned  at  St.  Andrews  In  1432. 

With  the  progress  of  education  the  advocates 
of  dissenting  opinions  increased  in  number,  for 
an  important  distinction  existed  between  the 
neglected    instructions    of    the    pastorate    and 


248  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

those  of  the  expanding  colleges  and  univer- 
sities. As  education  in  the  latter  was  pro- 
vided free,  or  at  a  trifling  expense,  its  influ- 
ence extended  to  high  and  low.  It  was, 
moreover,  the  avenue  to  promotion.  Learn- 
ing was  in  those  days  a  very  common  object 
of  ambition  among  young  men  of  all  ranks. 
The  hierarchy,  who  were  most  bitterly  opposed 
to  reform,  were  in  many  cases  founders  or  mu- 
nificent patrons  of  schools.  The  same  bishop 
who  laid  the  foundations  of  St.  Andrews  also 
committed  Resby  and  Craw  to  the  flames.  To 
resist  the  higher  education  was  more  than  any 
bishop's  reputation  could  stand,  and  yet  in 
promoting  it  they  were  unawares  constructing 
weapons  for  use  against  the  absoluteness  of 
their  own  authority. 

The  colleges  and  universities  of  Scotland  in- 
creased in  number.  St.  Andrews  University, 
established  in  1410,  was  sustained  by  the  ad- 
dition of  St.  Salvador's  College  about  1455,  by 
that  of  St.  Leonard's  in  151 2,  and  by  that  of 
St.  Mary's  in  1537.  The  University  of  Glas- 
gow was  commenced  by  Bishop  Turnbull  in 
1450,  with  authority  of  Pope  Nicholas  V.,  after 
the  model  of  that  at  Bologna.  The  old  Col- 
lege of  Aberdeen  was  in  1494  erected  into  a 
university  on  the  model  of  that  of  Paris  by 
Bishop  Elphinstone,  with  the  papal  sanction 
of  Alexander  VI. 


PROGJ^ESS   OF  EDUCATION.  249 

The  royal  patronage  of  James  I.  was  judi- 
ciously extended  to  the  same  cause.  At  St. 
Andrews  he  not  only  encouraged  the  "  profes- 
sors by  his  presence  at  their  lectures,  but  also 
gave  order  that  no  person  should  be  preferred 
to  any  benefice  unless  it  was  testified  by  the 
professors  that  he  had  made  a  reasonable 
progress  in  learning ;  and  for  that  effect  he 
kept  a  roll  of  the  best  qualified  from  which  to 
fill  places  that  happened  to  fall  void.  Such  he 
thought  to  be  the  surest  way  for  banishing  ig- 
norance from  the  Church."  He  also  frequently 
admonished  churchmen  in  place  to  "  live  as  they 
professed,  and  not  to  shame  the  bountifulness 
of  princes  by  abusing  their  donations  in  riot 
and  luxury." 

St.  Andrews,  after  ages  of  pre-eminence  as 
an  actual  primacy,  was  at  last,  in  1472,  by  the 
due  formality  of  a  papal  bull  issued  by  Sixtus 
IV.,  erected  into  an  archbishopric,  and  all  the 
rest  of  the  bishops  in  Scotland,  twelve  in  num- 
ber, ordained  to  be  subject  thereto.  The  lat- 
ter provision  was  too  explicit,  and  called  out 
a  strong  opposition  from  other  bishops.  The 
difference  was  settled  when  Glasgow  (in  1488) 
was  also  honored  with  archlepiscopal  dignity, 
with  Galloway,  Argyll  and  the  Isles  as  subor- 
dinate sees,  while  the  primacy  was  reserved  for 
St.  Andrews.  In  the  latter  case,  the  papal  action 
was  taken  on  the  ground  of  Scottish  national 


250  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

sovereignty,  and  to  cut  off  the  pretensions  of 
English  metropolitans. 

Among  the  people  of  the  west  country,  where 
once  the  old  British  and  Columbite  ministry  had 
been  most  highly  revered  and  their  churches 
had  been  longest  sustained,  a  party  arose  who 
strongly  dissented  from  many  of  the  doctrines 
of  their  Romish  priests.  Along  the  coast  of 
Ayrshire,  in  the  district  of  Kyle  and  Cunning- 
ham, they  seem  to  have  been  most  numerous. 
Very  naturally,  they  were  confounded  by  the 
public  of  their  time  with  the  followers  of  Wyc- 
liff,  who  were  themselves  confounded  with  the 
Lollards  of  the  Netherlands,  and  those  early 
Scottish  Reformers  were  accordingly  called  the 
Lollards  of  Kyle.  They  had  proceeded  to  the 
length  of  agreeing  upon  certain  principles,  and 
of  drawing  up  a  list  of  articles  on  which  they 
held  that  the  Church  needed  reformation,  when 
in  1494  they  were  brought  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  archbishop  of  Glasgow.  Their  articles, 
as  preserved  by  their  opponents,  and  extracted 
from  the  register  of  Glasgow,  were  in  number 
thirty-four,  of  which  some  of  the  more  import- 
ant were — 

1.  That  images  ought  not  to  be  made  nor 
worshiped. 

2.  That  the  relics  of  saints  ou^ht  not  to  be 
adored. 

4.  That  Christ  gave   the  power  of   binding 


PROGRESS   OF  EDUCATION.  25  I 

and  loosing  to  Peter  only,  and  not  to  his  suc- 
cessors. 

5.  That  Christ  ordained  no  priests  to  conse- 
crate. 

6.  That  after  the  consecration  in  the  mass 
there  remaineth  bread,  and  the  natural  body 
of  Christ  is  not  there. 

8.  That  Christ  did  abrogate  the  power  of 
secular  princes. 

9.  That  every  faithful  man  and  woman  is  a 
priest. 

J  2.  That  the  pope  deceiveth  the  people  with 
his  bulls  and  indulgences. 

13.  That  the  mass  profiteth  not  the  souls 
that  are  in  purgatory. 

I  7.  That  the  pope  exalts  himself  above  God 
and  aeainst  God. 

18.  That  the  pope  cannot  remit  the  pains 
of  purgatory. 

20.  That  the  excommunication  of  the  Church 
is  not  to  be  feared. 

22.  That  priests  may  have  wives,  according 
to  the  constitution  of  the  law. 

26.  That  the  pope  cannot  forgive  sins. 

31.  That  to  worship  the  sacraments  of  the 
Church  is  idolatry. 

For  distributing  those  articles  no  less  than 
thirty  persons  were  cited  to  appear  before  the 
council.  The  charge  was  brought  against  them 
by   the   archbishop   of  Glasgow.      Fortunately 


252  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

for  them,  the  king  himself,  James  IV.,  presided, 
and  was  favorably  impressed  with  the  state- 
ments made  by  their  speakers,  and  no  little 
amused  with  the  ready  and  pithy  way  in  which 
they  met  the  arguments  of  the  archbishop. 
They  were  dismissed  with  an  admonition  to 
beware  of  new  doctrines  and  to  content  them- 
selves with  the  faith  of  the  Church.^ 

^  Knox,  Intro.  Ecc.  Chron.,  ii.  513. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

CLOSING   SUMMARY. 

THE  Christian  Church  in  Scotland,  from  the 
earhest  hint  of  its  existence  in  the  third 
century  until  the  dawn  of  the  sixteenth,  passed 
through  four  stages  of  existence.  In  the  first 
it  was  a  missionary  enterprise,  in  which  the 
principal  personages  were  such  men  as  Nin- 
ian  and  Patrick  and  Columba  and  Aidan,  who, 
at  the  head  each  of  his  company  of  followers, 
planted  themselves  on  the  border  of  some  hea- 
then district  and  labored  for  its  conversion. 
The  system  which  they  carried  out  was  that 
of  religious  schools,  all  on  the  same  plan. 
These  schools  were  set  up  in  places  conveni- 
ent for  their  converts  or  for  the  heathen,  for 
whose  conversion  they  were  designed,  and 
were  devoted  to  educating  clergy  and  send- 
ing them  out  to  build  up  congregations  or  to 
minister  in  them.  The  pastors  thus  appointed 
were  held  to  be  related  specially  to  the  college 
which  educated  and  appointed  them,  and  unless 
sent  out  to  form  another  station,  or  choosing  to 
be  voluntary  anchorets,  the  college  was  their 

253 


254  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

home;  and  all  the  colleges  adhered  to  the  same 
common  doctrine  and  plan  of  government. 

It  was  a  peculiar  plan.  It  was  not  presbyte- 
rian,  for  although  the  heads  of  the  colleges  were 
presbyters,  as  also  were  many  of  the  brethren, 
yet  each  college  acted,  in  some  respects,  with  a 
separate  authority.  The  parochial  distribution 
of  presbyters  was  undeveloped.  They  minis- 
tered according  to  clans  and  septs  of  clans,  and 
the  college  to  which  they  belonged  was  their 
government.  No  presbyterial  meetings,  no 
synodal  meetings,  no  general  assembly  of  all, 
had  any  existence.  Their  regular  consultations 
were  those  of  the  brethren  in  a  college.  lona 
or  Lindisfarne  or  Abernethey  sends  out  her 
licentiates  by  authority  resident  in  herself,  and 
to  her  do  they  continue  to  look  for  moral  and 
ecclesiastical  support. 

It  was  not  episcopal,  for  the  chief  authority 
was  not  in  a  bishop,  but  in  the  society  of  breth- 
ren who  constituted  the  college,  and  the  supe- 
rior was  the  presbyter  head  of  the  fraternity. 
No  place  existed  for  a  bishop.  The  country 
was  not  divided  into  dioceses.  And  if  a  wan- 
dering bishop  appeared  in  any  of  the  colleges, 
he  was  respected  as  of  higher  ecclesiastical  rank, 
but  they  had  nothing  for  him  to  do,  which  could 
not  be  as  well  done  in  his  absence. 

Upon  the  establishment  of  that  system  over 
the   whole   country,  with   its   colleges   at   lona, 


CLOSING  SUMMARY.  255 

Dunkeld,  Abernethey,  Melrose  and  elsewhere, 
a  second  stage  began,  in  which  the  missionary 
feature  gave  way  to  pastoral  routine,  and  the 
system  became  the  national  Church  establish- 
ment of  the  Scots  and  Picts.  Among  the  Picts 
an  imperfect  attempt  to  substitute  the  Romish 
secular  system  from  England  was  only  partial 
and  temporary.  The  Church  which  adapted 
itself  to  clans  and  families,  instead  of  to  par- 
ishes and  dioceses,  was  perhaps  thought  to  be 
best  suited  to  the  social  condition  of  the  coun- 
try. Absence  of  the  ordinary  stringent  mon- 
astic vows  left  the  brethren  free  to  hold  prop- 
erty and  to  marry.  Perhaps  few  comparatively 
availed  themselves  of  the  freedom,  but  a  good- 
ly number  did.  In  cases  where  the  superior  was 
a  married  man,  his  revenue  was  sometimes  re- 
tained by  his  son,  who,  without  being  a  clergy- 
man, inherited  also  his  father's  rank  and  title  as 
abbot.^ 

It  was  in  that  state  of  thinors  that  the  Cul- 
dees  arose,  a  society  of  clerical  reformers  to 
enforce  stricter  observance  of  the  collegiate 
method. 

A  third  stage  of  the  record  opens  in  the 
reign  of  Malcolm  Canmore  and  his  Saxon 
queen — a  revolution  continued  by  their  sons 
— whereby  the  Romish  system,  both  secular 
and  regular,  was  enforced    by  royal  authority 

1  Joseph  Robertson,  in  Quart.  RezK,  vol.  85,  art.  iv.  117. 


256  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Upon  the  nation,  and  the  native  Scottish  Church 
extino^uished. 

A  fourth  stage  was  gradually  reached  in  the 
course  of  ecclesiastical  aggression  from  Eng- 
land, to  escape  which  the  Scots  sought  refuge 
in  the  pope.  His  protection  was  granted,  and, 
as  far  as  concerned  the  Church,  was  effective. 
A  papal  tax  was  submitted  to,  and  Scotland  be- 
came papal.  Notwithstanding  an  interruption 
during  the  war  of  independence,  that  favor 
continued,  and  was  cultivated  as  a  protection 
against  a  nearer  and  very  obtrusive  power. 
Thus  it  came  to  pass  that,  before  the  end  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  Scottish  ecclesiasticism 
was  more  directly  and  completely  conformable 
to  the  papacy  than  that  of  the  churches  of 
France  or  England,  which  had  been  part  of 
the  papal  empire  from  a  much  earlier  date. 

Through  the  fifteenth  century  an  inverse 
process  went  on,  whereby  the  easy  security 
of  the  exotic  ecclesiasticism  declined  into  in- 
dulgence, and,  on  the  other  side,  the  increase 
of  education  led  to  more  discriminate  observa- 
tion of  existing  practices  and  a  more  common 
knowledge  of  the  Bible.  It  might  be  called  the 
period  of  the  rise  of  the  universities,  from  the 
erection  of  that  of  St.  Andrews  until  the  con- 
troversy of  the  Reformation  became  a  national 
question — one  destined  to  control  every  other 
for  the  next  one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 


CLOSING   SUMMARY.  257 

The  change  toward  emancipation  from  the 
papal  yoke  was  slow,  and  by  successive  steps, 
and  had  proceeded  to  a  great  length  before 
men  perceived  to  what  a  revolution  things  were 
tending.  For  a  long  time  that  growing  spirit 
of  revolt  was  not  against  the  papacy.  The 
popes,  upon  the  whole,  had  been  very  friendly 
to  Scotland.  It  was  against  doctrines  and 
practices  In  the  national  Catholic  Church  that 
protests  arose — against  senseless,  unscrlptural 
doctrines,  the  Immoral  lives  of  the  clergy,  espe- 
cially of  the  higher  clergy,  and  their  oppressive 
treatment  of  the  people.  Putting  to  death 
those  who  made  public  such  protest  no  doubt 
deterred  many  from  professing  the  same  opin- 
ions, but  it  also  called  attention  to  them  and 
challenged  examination  of  them.  Then  arose 
questions  as  to  the  personal  character  of  some 
of  the  popes,  which  toward  the  end  of  the 
century  was  so  notorious  as  to  be  an  offence 
to  all  Europe.  It  began  to  be  denied  that  a 
wicked  man  could  be  made  the  head  of  the 
Chnrch  on  earth  by  any  forms  of  consecration. 

A  further  step  led  to  denial  of  the  papal 
claim  to  be  vicar  of  God,  and  to  power  of  par- 
doning sin.  In  its  first  stages,  that  progress 
appeared  not  in  the  action  of  any  reforming 
priest,  but  among  the  better  educated  laymen. 
In  the  last  years  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  was 
evinced  in  the  Lollards  of  Kyle,  and  by  acdon 


258  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

of  the  estates  of  the  realm,  in  remonstrating 
against  papal  intrusion  and  pretension  to  dis- 
tribute all  church  patronage  in  the  land,  and  in 
denouncing  persons  who  backed  up  those  pre- 
tensions by  going  to  Rome  to  secure  presenta- 
tion to  benefices,  and  those  who  carried  litiga- 
tion to  Rome,  and  thereby  recognized  the  papal 
court  as  higher  than  that  of  the  nation.  Those 
who  had  cases  there  were  ordered  to  brine 
them  home  to  be  settled  by  the  law  courts  of 
the  land. 

Yet  during  the  same  time,  by  the  erection 
of  St.  Andrews  and  Glasgow  into  archbishop- 
rics, and  their  disputes  and  appeal  to  Rome, 
papal  intervention  in  Scottish  affairs  was  for  a 
time  increased.  Possession  of  great  revenue 
by  churchmen,  sustained  in  place  by  a  strong 
foreign  power,  and  influence  wielded  by  them 
in  the  monarchical  politics  of  the  times,  secured 
the  ascendency  of  the  papal  system  for  two 
generations  longer,  without  in  the  least  degree 
retrieving  Its  impaired  popularity.  Power  to 
repress  the  utterance  of  dissentient  opinions 
failed  to  prevent  people  from  entertaining 
them,  while  successive  utterances  became  bold- 
er and  fuller  in  denunciation  of  prevailing  error 
and  immorality,  until  finally  redress  was  de- 
manded and  obtained. 

Scotland,  for  a  long  time  favorably  impress- 
ed with  the  benefits  of  Romanism,  and   cher- 


CLOSING   SUMMARY.  259 

ishing  it  as  a  friend,  upon  better  knowledge 
of  it  and  fuller  experience  of  its  fruits  lost  her 
respect  for  it,  and,  as  those  fruits  developed  in 
the  pastorates  of  her  Church  and  the  morals 
of  her  higher  clergy,  found  it  at  last  to  be  in- 
tolerable. To  return  to  her  old  collegiate  or 
monastic  plan  was  neither  desirable  nor  prac- 
ticable ;  a  missionary  form  of  the  Church  was 
no  longer  adequate  to  the  demands  of  the  na- 
tion. A  more  complete  theology  and  greater 
experience  in  church  affairs  dictated  a  better 
method  of  discipline  and  a  fuller  creed.  The 
compacted  civil  union  of  all  that  is  now  Scot- 
land, and  the  steady  settlement  of  her  increased 
population,  called  for  a  similar  unity  and  com- 
prehensiveness of  the  governing  system  in 
the  Church,  with  territorial  distribution  of  the 
clergy. 

How  these  topics  arose  for  discussion,  what 
answers  were  proposed,  what  was  adopted  as 
authority  for  arbitration,  with  the  inevitable 
war  of  logic  and  of  arms,  and  what  conclu- 
sion was  reached,  will  fall  into  another  part 
of  this  narrative. 


BOOK  THIRD, 


CAUSES  WHICH  LED  TO  THE 
REFORMATION. 


CHAPTER    I. 

DECLINE   OF  CLERICAL   PIETY. 

GAVIN  DOUGLAS,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two,  was  made  rector  of  Hawick,  and 
evinced  his  quaHfications  for  the  office  by  a 
Scottish  translation  of  Ovid's  ''  Remedy  for 
Love."  Amone  churchmen  of  rank  one  of 
the  best,  in  Hterary  merit  second  to  not  more 
than  one  of  his  contemporaries,  for  sobriety  of 
deportment,  he  stood  conspicuous  in  an  age  of 
violence.  The  events  of  his  life  present  per- 
haps as  unbiased  a  picture  of  the  motives  pre- 
vailing among  the  hierarchy,  and  of  the  way  In 
which  benefices  were  conferred  In  those  days, 
as  can  now  be  obtained. 

Royal  perfidy  and  murder  had  broken  the 
old  line  of  Douglas,  but  the  younger  branch 
of  Angus  Inherited  Its  honors  and  popular 
favor.  Already  it  had  reached  the  summit  of 
Its  greatness  In  the  hands  of  Archibald,  the 
great  earl  of  Angus,  commonly  spoken  of  by 
the  nickname  of  "  Bell-the-Cat."  Hamlltons, 
under  the  leadership  of  the  earl  of  Arran,  had 
risen  also  to  a  degree  of  wealth  and  political 

263- 


264  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

influence  scarcely  Inferior  to  the  Douglases ; 
Stewarts  of  the  royal  line  and  its  affiliated 
clans,  with  Gordons  of  Huntly,  Hepburns  of 
Bothwell,  Campbells  of  Argyll,  and  other  stems 
of  the  aristocracy,  sought  to  subordinate  the 
richest  places  in  the  Church,  as  appanages  for 
cadets  of  their  own  houses. 

Papal  patronage  had  long  been  making  prog- 
ress and  limiting  that  of  the  Crown  and  the 
nobility.  Laws  had  been  passed  to  resist  it, 
and  although  not  always  enforced,  because  of 
the  conflict  of  parties,  were  a  strong  defensive 
armor  when  the  native  interests  were  agreed. 

Repeated  and  long  minorities  in  the  royal 
line  had  given  occasion  for  greatly  dispropor- 
tioned  increase  of  power  in  a  few  baronial  fam- 
ilies, whose  ambitions  came  in  conflict,  and  the 
pope  profited  by  their  dissensions. 

The  most  honorable  benefice  in  the  Church 
was  the  archbishopric  of  St.  Andrews,  now  the 
authoritatively  constituted  primacy  of  all  Scot- 
land. Next  to  that  was  Glasgow,  then  Dun- 
keld  and  the  other  diocesan  episcopates,  the 
great  abbacies  of  Aberbrothock,  Lochleven, 
and  so  forth.  These  places  were  desirable 
no  less  for  emolument  than  for  honor. 

It  was  in  the  eighth  year  of  the  reign  of 
James  IV.  (1496)  that  Gavin  Douglas  received 
his  first  benefice.  Soon  afterward  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  place  of  provost  in  the  cathedral 


DECLINE    OF  CLERICAL   PIETY.  265 

church  of  St.  Giles  in  Edinburgh,  which,  being 
in  the  gift  of  the  Crown,  he  took  possession  of 
without  opposition.  In  subsequent  preferments 
the  weight  of  his  family  was  greatly  to  his  dis- 
advantage, bringing  the  force  of  various  oppos- 
ing interests  against  him.  The  third  son  of 
the  great  Earl  Archibald  Douglas  of  Angus,  he 
was  born  in  1474,  or  early  next  year,  and  was 
designed  from  boyhood  for  the  Church — more, 
it  would  seem,  from  his  literary  turn  of  mind 
than  for  any  depth  of  religious  feeling  evinced 
by  him.  His  education,  the  best  then  to  be  ob- 
tained in  Scotland,  was  completed  in  Paris. 

When  James  IV.  made  his  invasion  of  Eng- 
land in  1 513,  the  great  earl  strongly  remonstra- 
ted against  it.  His  remonstrance  failed.  But 
although,  because  of  his  advanced  age,  he 
himself  remained  behind,  his  two  oldest  sons, 
George  and  William,  followed  their  impulsive 
king,  and,  together  with  about  two  hundred  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Douglas  name,  fell  by  his  side  in 
the  battle  of  Flodden.  The  earl  retired  to  the 
religious  house  of  St.  Mains  in  Galloway,  and 
died  soon  after,  leaving  a  grandson  of  his  own 
name  to  inherit  the  estates  and  honors  of  the 
house  of  Angus.  Among  the  slain  on  that  dis- 
astrous field  were  found  clergymen  of  the  high- 
est rank  in  the  Church  of  Scodand.  One  of 
these  was  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  a  nat- 
ural son  of  the  king — of  course  a  youth — who 


266  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

had  held  for  several  years,  in  addition  to  that 
honorable  see,  the  abbacies  of  Dunfermline  and 
Aberbrothock,  with  the  priory  of  Coldingham. 
All  these  places,  left  vacant  by  his  death,  be- 
came objects  of  cupidity  to  some  of  the  greedy 
families  of  rank. 

Queen  Margaret,  in  a  letter  to  Leo  X.,  strong- 
ly urged  the  merits  of  Gavin  Douglas  as  a  suit- 
able person  to  be  secured  in  possession  of  Ab- 
erbrothock, to  which  he  was  already  assigned, 
and  soon  afterward  nominated  him  also  to  the 
primacy.  Presuming  that  the  royal  nomination 
would  not  be  disputed,  he  forthwith  occupied 
the  castle  of  St.  Andrews.  But  John  Hepburn, 
of  the  noble  family  of  Bothwell,  and  already 
prior  of  the  cathedral,  was  elected  by  the  can- 
ons. The  pope,  who  (notwithstanding  the  na- 
tional laws  to  the  contrary)  continued  to  assert 
his  right  to  dispose  of  all  benefices,  mediately 
or  immediately,  granted  his  sanction  to  Andrew 
Forman,  a  nephew,  it  is  said,  of  Alexander,  Lord 
Home.  At  that  time,  Forman  was  bishop  of 
Bourges,  a  benefice  in  the  Gallican  Church,  con- 
ferred upon  him  for  his  services  to  France  in 
promoting  the  march  of  James  IV.  into  Eng- 
land. Leo  X.,  now  having  a  nephew  to  provide 
for,  persuaded  Forman  to  resign  that  bishopric, 
in  view  of  promotion  to  the  primacy  in  Scotland. 

Hepburn,  having  possession  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical   buildings  and  sustained  by  his  friends, 


DECLINE    OF  CLERICAL   PIETY.  267 

raised  a  military  force,  and  expelled  the  adhe- 
rents of  Douglas  and  garrisoned  the  castle. 
The  young  earl  of  Angus  interposed  with  two 
hundred  cavalry,  but  his  uncle  declined  the 
unseemly  contest,  and  withdrew  his  claim. 
Hepburn,  for  a  time,  ruled  in  St.  Andrews  by 
strength  of  arms.  And  Forman,  with  his  pa- 
pal bull,  was  helpless,  because  no  man  dared  to 
publish  it.  At  last,  his  kinsman.  Lord  Home, 
came  to  his  aid  with  ten  thousand  of  his  Bor- 
der followers,  subdued  the  opposition,  and 
caused  the  papal  gift  to  be  proclaimed  in  Edin- 
burgh with  great  solemnity.  For  this  service 
the  brother  of  Lord  Home  was  to  receive  the 
priory  of  Coldingham.  But  the  end  of  the 
quarrel  was  not  until  after  Hepburn  had  pre- 
sented his  plea  at  the  court  of  Rome,  and  the 
arrival  of  the  duke  of  Albany  from  France. 

Before  the  end  of  the  first  year  of  her  wid- 
owhood, the  queen  married  the  earl  of  Angus, 
nephew  of  Gavin  Douglas.  Doubtful,  as  some 
were  at  first,  of  the  wisdom  of  constituting  her 
regent,  on  account  of  the  advantage  it  might 
open  to  her  brother,  Henry  VIII.  of  England, 
to  interfere  in  Scottish  affairs,  still  more  was  it 
questioned  now,  when  it  put  the  most  danger- 
ous rival  of  the  royal  dynasty  in  its  very  place 
of  power.  The  estates  began  to  think  of  meas- 
ures to  prevent  the  evils  apprehended  from 
that  quarter.     The  duke  of  Albany,  younger 


268  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

brother  of  James  III.,  had  long  been  resident 
in  France,  where  he  enjoyed  the  friendship 
of  Louis  XL,  with  extensive  possessions  and 
princely  honors.  Immediately  after  the  battle 
of  Flodden,  the  opinion  had  been  advanced  that 
he  was  the  proper  person  to  act  as  regent. 
Now  that  opinion  became  the  policy  of  the 
nation.  But  His  Grace  was  unwilling  to  leave 
France,  where  he  had  become  completely  nat- 
uralized. He  delayed,  and  did  not  arrive  in 
Scotland  until  the  i8th  of  May,  151 5.  The 
war  for  the  primacy  was  still  unsettled.  Un- 
der his  management  the  parties  submitted  to 
a  compromise,  facilitated  by  the  distribution  of 
other  rich  benefices,  which  in  that  juncture  had 
become  available. 

Forman  was  left  in  possession  of  St.  An- 
drews and  of  the  abbacies  of  Dunfermline  and 
Aberbrothock.  The  latter,  taken  by  Gavin 
Douglas,  was  for  a  time  to  be  conceded  to 
Beaton,  archbishop  of  Glasgow.  Coldingham 
went  to  the  brother  of  Lord  Home.  John 
Hepburn,  prior  of  St.  Andrews,  was  to  receive 
from  the  archbishop  a  pension  of  three  thou- 
sand crowns  a  year.  To  his  brother,  James 
Hepburn,  was  assigned  the  rich  bishopric  of 
Murray.  Alexander  Gordon,  cousin  to  the 
earl  of  Huntly,  was  made  bishop  of  Aberdeen. 
James  Ogilvy,  a  kinsman  of  Lord  Ogilvy,  was 
appointed    abbot    of   Dryburgh ;    and    George 


DECLINE    OF  CLERICAL    PIETY.  269 

Dundas,  of  the  noble  family  of  that  name,  re- 
ceived as  a  layman  the  "  commendation "  of 
Torphichen.  And  so  the  prizes  were  distrib- 
uted amonor  the  honorable  candidates. 

In  all  this  nothing  fell  to  the  lot  of  Gavin 
Douglas,  who  had  early  withdrawn  from  the 
squabble.  But  neither  did  he  escape  the  con- 
flict of  arms.  Four  months  before  the  arrival 
of  the  duke  of  Albany  the  bishop  of  Dunkeld 
died ;  and  the  queen  again  recommended  her 
husband's  uncle  to  a  vacant  see.  In  this  in- 
stance she  succeeded  in  obtaining,  it  is  thought 
through  influence  of  her  brother,  the  king  of 
England,  a  papal  bull  in  favor  of  her  candi- 
date. But  here,  also,  a  competitor  preoccupied 
the  field.  The  earl  of  Athole  had  persuaded 
the  canons  of  Dunkeld  to  "postulate"  his 
brother,  Andrew  Stewart,  who  had  not  yet 
been  advanced  to  sub-deacon's  orders.  Dou- 
glas was  resisted,  and  accused  of  procuring  a 
bull  from  Rome,  and  thereby  violating  the  laws 
of  the  realm.  He  was  found  guilty  and  com- 
mitted to  prison.  It  was  the  same  cause  which 
in  Forman's  case  had  not  only  passed  unchal- 
lenged, but  had  been  solemnly  published  in  the 
capital  of  the  kingdom.  But  the  enemies  of 
the  Douglases  were  now  in  power.  After 
about  a  year,  during  which  Stewart  drew  the 
revenues  of  the  see,  an  arrangement  was  en- 
tered into  whereby  Douglas  obtained  his  free- 


2/0  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

dom,  and  by  the  Intercession  of  Beaton,  arch- 
bishop of  Glasgow,  with  the  duke  of  Albany,  his 
claim  to  the  bishopric  of  Dunkeld  was  secured. 
All  the  obstacles,  however,  were  not  yet  re- 
moved. For  although,  at  Dunkeld,  most  of 
both  the  clergy  and  the  laity  received  their 
new  bishop  with  favor,  the  episcopal  palace  was 
still  occupied  by  the  retainers  of  Stewart,  who 
also  seized  by  force  the  tower  of  the  cathedral, 
and  obstructed  the  performance  of  divine  ser- 
vice. Stewart  himself  arrived  with  a  force  of 
armed  men,  and  commenced  firing  upon  the 
bishop's  party  where  they  sat  in  council.  Lord 
Ogilvy,  and  others  with  him,  prepared  for  bat- 
tle, and  by  mustering  from  the  neighboring 
districts,  in  the  course  of  the  next  day,  had  a 
formidable  body  of  fighting  men  assembled. 
Stewart,  perceiving  himself  to  be  outnumber- 
ed, withdrew  to  the  woods.  But  some  of  his 
party  held  their  ground  until  the  cathedral  was 
taken  by  force.  Nor  did  they  surrender  the 
palace  before  the  matter  was  settled  by  inter- 
ference of  the  regent,  for  the  bishop  refused 
to  carry  violence  to  the  shedding  of  blood.  It 
was  finally  agreed  that  Stewart  should  give  up 
his  pretensions  to  the  bishopric,  but  retain  the 
rents  he  had  levied,  together  with  two  subor- 
dinate benefices,  on  which  he  was  to  pay  a 
certain  tax.  For  that  ag^reement  the  reo-ent 
obtained  the  papal  sanction. 


DFX  LINE    OF  CLERICAL    PIETY.  2/1 

In  the  whole  of  this  history  not  a  thought  of 
the  interests  of  the  Church  or  for  the  people  con- 
cerned is  evinced — not  a  care  for  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  not  a  shadow  of  the  gospel.  It  is  a 
mere  record  of  shameless  greed,  the  working 
of  that  simple  plan, 

"  That  they  should  take  who  have  the  power, 
And  they  should  keep  who  can." 

Certain  places  in  the  Church  were  worth  so 
much  money ;  certain  formalities  were  needed 
to  qualify  a  man  to  hold  one  of  them,  and  with 
a  view  to  that  end  certain  persons  submitted  to 
the  formalities.  Nor  in  the  presence  of  such 
conspicuous  examples  can  there  be  a  doubt 
that  many  humbler  places  were  disposed  of 
in  the  same  manner.  Even  a  man  of  such 
peaceful  disposition  as  Gavin  Douglas,  devo- 
ted to  literary  pursuits,  and  ready  to  withdraw 
from  unchristian  quarreling,  could  not  get  pos- 
session of  what  was  conferred  by  authority, 
undisputed  in  that  time,  without  the  use  of 
violence.  It  was  much  that  he  avoided  blood- 
shed. 


CHAPTER   II. 

CLERICAL    MORALITY. 

GREED  of  money,  actuating  the  hierarchy  of 
Scotland  to  such  a  degree  and  in  such  a 
shameless  way,  was  a  constant  provocation  to 
remember  that  it  w^as  a  system  of  foreign  ori- 
gin, and  that  its  interest  in  the  country  centred 
in  its  gains.  Intelligent  men  could  not  fail  to 
know  that  it  was  introduced,  at  no  very  distant 
date,  in  the  hands  of  foreign  bishops,  abbots  and 
monks,  whose  places  were  created  for  them  by 
suppression  of  the  native  Church  government, 
and  subordination  of  the  native  clergy.  None 
could  fail  to  know  that  it  held  allemance  to  a 

o 

foreign  ecclesiarch,  or  to  perceive  that  Scots- 
men, who  occupied  its  places  of  emolument, 
were  alienated  thereby  from  the  interests  of 
their  humbler  countrymen.  Its  highest  digni- 
ties were  still  so  recent  that  men  then  living 
could  remember  when  they  were  constituted. 
Much  fault  was  found  with  it  among  the  people 
from  whom  its  revenues  were  drawn.  It  was  felt 
to  be  a  growing  evil,  and  the  more  oppressive 
that  utterly  unworthy  men  held  its  highest  and 


CLERICAL    MORALITY.  2/3 

most  lucrative  benefices.  Sir  David  Lindsay, 
who  on  so  many  points  gave  expression  to  the 
popular  sentiment,  one  day  approached  the  king 
when  surrounded  by  a  numerous  train  of  nobil- 
ity, and  declared  himself  a  candidate  for  an  of- 
fice which  had  lately  become  vacant.  "  I  have," 
said  he,  "  servit  Your  Grace  lang,  and  luik  to  be 
rewardid,  as  others  are ;  and  now  your  maister 
taylor,  at  the  pleasure  of  God,  is  departit,  where- 
fore I  would  desire  of  Your  Grace  to  bestow  this 
little  benefite  upon  me."  The  king  replied  that 
he  was  amazed  at  such  an  application  from  a 
person  who  could  neither  shape  nor  sew.  ''Sir," 
rejoined  the  poet,  "  that  maks  nae  matter,  for 
you  have  given  bishoprics  and  benefices  to 
mony  standing  here  about  you,  and  yet  they 
can  neither  teach  nor  preach ;  and  why  may 
not  I  as  Weill  be  your  taylor,  thocht  I  can 
nouther  shape  nor  sew,  seeing  teaching  and 
preaching  are  nae  less  requisite  to  their  voca- 
tion than  shaping  and  sewing  to  ane  taylor?" 

Teaching  and  preaching,  however,  had  ceased 
to  be  any  part  of  the  work  done  by  bishops  ; 
they  had  ceased  to  consider  it  their  duty.  By 
the  parish  priest  it  was  also  generally  neglect- 
ed, left  to  the  occasional  visits  of  mendicant 
monks.  The  people  of  all  ranks  were  desti- 
tute of  religious  instruction,  except  in  as  far  as 
they  collected  for  themselves. 

But  that  was  far  from  all  the  evil  nestllnor  In 

o 

18 


274  THE    CHURCH   IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  system  and  making  its  effects  known  before 
the  pubHc.  To  put  men  into  the  ministry  with- 
out ministerial  quaUfications  was  bad  enough, 
but  when  many  of  them  were  also  without 
piety,  or  positively  immoral,  it  became  scan- 
dalous. What  religious  influence  can  be  ex- 
pected of  godless  men  living  in  luxury  and 
furnished  with  the  means  of  gratifying  every 
desire  ? 

Rome,  moreover,  had  added  to  the  Deca- 
logue, and  thereby  greatly  added  to  the  num- 
ber of  sins.  Forbidding  their  priests  to  marry 
had  almost,  in  relation  to  them,  abolished  the 
seventh  commandment — so  far,  at  least,  that 
marriage  inevitably  excluded  a  man  from  the 
priesthood,  concubinage  not  necessarily.  The 
effects  were,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  widely 
spread  over  Western  Christendom.  On  this 
subject  the  conduct  of  certain  bishops  and  arch- 
bishops of  the  Scottish  Church  was  notorious. 
The  evidence  to  the  fact,  only  too  plain  and 
abundant,  is  much  of  it  of  a  nature  unfit  for 
republication  and  is  so  undisputed  as  not  to 
need  repetition.  So  common  was  that  kind  of 
immorality  that  it  had  ceased  to  be  regarded 
with  shame.  In  some  cases  no  concealment  was 
attempted.  Beaton,  cardinal  and  archbishop  of 
St.  Andrews,  was  open  in  his  amours,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  marrying  his  oldest  daughter,  with 
great  and  almost  regal  state,  to  a  son  of  Earl 


CLERICAL    MORALITY.  275 

Crawford.  Hepburn,  bishop  of  Murray,  was 
equally  shameless,  but  with  a  coarseness  of 
bravado  against  which  the  cardinal  was  guard- 
ed by  his  culture  and  better  taste.  Even  the 
decorous  Gavin  Douglas,  bishop  of  Dunkeld, 
"did  not  die  childless." 

With  such  examples  in  the  primacy  and  in 
the  episcopal  palaces,  similar  conduct  in  the 
lower  clergy  was  sure  of  impunity ;  and  con- 
temporaneous literature  corroborates  the  voice 
of  common  fame.  From  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury to  the  sixteenth  few  themes  occur  in  the 
works  of  poets  and  authors  of  popular  tales 
more  frequently  than  the  immorality  of  the 
clergy.  Nor  is  it  necessary,  in  order  to  justify 
the  common  censure,  to  assume  that  all  priests 
were  bad  men.  The  bad  mig^ht  not  have  been 
a  majority  of  the  whole,  but  even  if  a  relative- 
ly small  number  were  openly  guilty  and  went 
unpunished,  very  plainly  the  whole  were  either 
corrupted  in  opinion,  or  intimidated  by  what 
they  deemed  the  greater  power  of  the  guilty. 
It  is  not  a  certain  conclusion  that  the  laity  will 
be  bad  if  their  priests  are  bad ;  but,  with  the  bad 
conduct  of  the  priesthood  before  their  eyes, 
those  who  are  viciously  disposed  will  feel  em- 
boldened in  vice,  a  lower  standard  of  morality 
will  be  maintained,  and  persons  of  wavering  vir- 
tue will  the  more  readily  yield  to  temptation. 

In  the  days  of  James  IV.,  when  the  oppos- 


2/6  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

ing  currents  of  events  were  hastening  to  their 
respective  conclusions,  when  intelligence  was 
increasing  toward  a  movement  for  reforma- 
tion, and  the  proclivity  of  corruption  reaching 
a  degree  which  could  no  longer  be  endured,  a 
goodly  number  of  authors,  of  both  verse  and 
prose,  appeared  in  Scotland.  Their  works  are 
contemporaneous  testimonies  to  the  progress 
in  both  directions.  The  satire  of  some,  who 
themselves  were  not  strong  enough  to  resist 
the  downward  stream,  is  the  most  telling  tes- 
timony of  all. 

William  Dunbar,  the  chief  of  early  Scottish 
poets,  and  without  an  equal  until  the  rise  of 
Burns,  though  he  gave  no  evidence  of  belong- 
ing to  the  reforming  party,  at  least  penetrated 
and  exposed  the  conduct  of  the  other.  He 
was  a  native  of  Lothian,  born  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  fifteenth  century,  flourished  in  the 
time  of  James  IV.,  and  died  within  a  few  years 
after  the  battle  of  Flodden.  In  his  early  days 
he  was  a  novice  of  the  Franciscan  order,  and 
in  the  Franciscan  garb  had  traveled  and  preach- 
ed in  the  principal  towns  of  England  from  Ber- 
wick to  Calais,  and  beyond  the  sea  among  the 
people  of  Picardy.  He  declares  that  in  such 
capacity  his  mode  of  life  constrained  him  to 
practice  many  a  pious  fraud  from  which  no 
holy  water  could  cleanse  him.  Later  in  life 
he  enjoyed  much  admiration,  but  little  emolu- 


CLERICAL   MORALITY.  2/7 

ment,  at  the  court  of  James  IV.  He  would 
have  accepted  a  benefice  in  the  Church,  and 
thought  it  a  hardship  that  none  was  offered. 
His  Hcentious  poems  do  not  seem  to  have  oc- 
curred to  him  as  an  obstacle  in  the  way  to 
promotion.  With  the  sharp  scalpel  of  satir- 
ical wit  he  laid  open  to  public  contempt  vices 
which  it  does  not  appear  that  he  had  himself 
the  fortitude  to  resist.  But  if  he  could  not 
heal  the  evils  in  which  he  was  involved,  he 
laid  them  bare  before  the  eyes  of  men  who 
had  the  remedy  to  apply. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  when  unchastity  was 
common  many  other  sins  abounded.  No  sin 
ever  reio^ns  alone.  Amone  the  evils  which 
prevailed  were  violence,  rapine  and  disregard 
of  life,  against  which,  in  many  parts  of  the 
country,  there  was  very  imperfect  protection. 
Profane  swearing  was  notoriously  common 
over  the  whole  island,  and  especially  was  the 
profanity  of  Scotsmen  proverbial  among  for- 
eigners. What  in  our  day  is  meant  by  swearing 
like  a  trooper  was  then  to  swear  like,  a  Scot. 
Guilty  as  all  classes  were,  the  clergy  took  the 
lead.  Testimony  remains  in  literature.  The 
writings  of  Bishop  Douglas  are  liberally  inter- 
spersed with  profane  oaths.  As  the  spirit  of 
the  Reformation  gained  ground,  it  was  deemed 
proper  for  Parliament  to  interfere.  An  act 
was    passed    in    1551    forbidding    the   practice. 


278  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

*'A  'prelate  of  kirk,'  earl  or  lord  was  to  be 
fined  in  twelve  pence  for  the  first  offence,  com- 
mitted within  the  next  three  months ;  different 
penalties  were  apportioned  for  different  ranks 
during  the  first  year ;  and  for  the  fourth  offence, 
committed  after  the  expiration  of  that  period, 
a  prelate,  earl  or  lord  was  to  be  banished  or 
imprisoned  for  the  space  of  a  year  and  a  day." 
Of  what  class  did  that  majority  consist  which 
thus  attempted  to  restrain  the  lords  and  bish- 
ops from  profane  swearing? 

For  men  who  were  sensible  of  the  turpitude 
of  vice  to  hate  the  system  which  was  training 
their  country  in  such  iniquity  and  disgrace 
hardly  needed  Christian  faith.  It  was  within 
the  reach  of  a  decent  morality.  National  am- 
bition, desire  to  have  the  country  respected 
among  her  neighbors,  the  moral  safety  of  fam- 
ilies, the  protection  and  comfort  of  society,  de- 
manded a  reformation. 

Things  already  mentioned  were  operating 
to  produce  alienation  between  the  clergy  and 
laity  of  Scotland,  giving  the  impression  to  the 
laity  that  the  clergy  were  not  reliable  guides 
where  they  were  legally  constituted  the  sole 
guides,  and  that  their  interests  were  not  the 
best  interests  of  the  people.  But  there  were 
other  causes  tending  to  the  same  end  more 
directly.  It  was  impossible  to  respect  profli- 
gacy,  especially   in    men    whose   office    implied 


CLERICAL   MORALITY.  279 

godliness,  or  grasping  covetousness  and  ambi- 
tion on  the  part  of  men  claiming  to  be  succes- 
sors of  the  apostles. 

But  there  was  a  stronger  feeling  than  con- 
tempt engendered  by  the  conduct  of  the  hier- 
archy in  Scotland.  Had  their  moral  character 
been  immaculate,  there  was  in  their  treatment 
of  the  laity,  high  and  low,  a  hardness  repulsive 
of  all  affection. 

The  canon  law  had  grown  up  in  the  hands 
of  ecclesiastics  and  for  their  benefit.  The  peo- 
ple had  no  part  in  its  preparation,  and  knew 
it  only  as  it  was  applied  to  their  disadvantage. 
In  Scotland  such  relations  were  established 
between  it  and  the  civil  law  that  the  one  sus- 
tained the  other.  The  screws  of  compulsion 
could  thereby  be  turned  down  upon  reluctat- 
ing subjects,  who  often  felt  that  they  were 
wronged  without  the  possibility  of  redress. 
When  the  king  or  regent  was  favorable  to  the 
hierarchy,  it  was  easy  to  find  a  plea  for  forfeit- 
ure of  estates  in  whole  or  in  part.  The  prop- 
erty of  the  nobility  and  well-to-do  commoners 
had  long  been  gradually  sliding  into  the  hands 
of  the  clergy.  By  the  beginning  of  the  six- 
teenth century  the  larger  part  of  the  landed 
estates  of  the  kingdom  belonged  to  the  Church. 
James  IV.  resisted  these  aggressions,  but  his 
successor,  though  entertaining  litde  love  for 
the  bishops  about  him,  yielded  to  them,  and  to 


280  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

enrich  them  distressed  the  nobiHty  with  ''  for- 
feitures and  penalties."  It  is  said  that  James 
Beaton,  archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  had  pre- 
pared for  him  a  long  list  of  properties  to  be 
forfeited  as  circumstances  might  prove  favor- 
able. The  report  may  be  true  or  not ;  that  ir. 
was  accepted  as  credible  proves  what  the  public 
of  that  time  had  learned  to  believe,  and  so  be- 
lievinpf  were  accumulating  hatred  ao-ainst  the 
class  of  whom  it  was  believed.  To  marry  the 
illegitimate  children  of  some  of  those  wealthy 
churchmen  could  not  have  been  a  very  satis- 
factory way  of  making  reprisals.  A  more 
sweeping  plan  began  to  take  possession  of  the 
minds  of  not  a  few.  The  artifices  of  what  was 
to  them  inscrutable  craft  many  began  to  think 
of  encountering  with  open  force. 

Canon  law  entered  in  many  ways  into  the 
dealings  of  priest  and  people  to  embarrass  the 
security  and  comfort  of  society.  One  fertile 
source  of  such  evil  was  the  wide  ranee  of  re- 
lationship  within  which  marriage  could  not  be 
contracted.  Persons  descended  from  a  com- 
mon ancestry  to  as  far  back  as  a  great-great- 
grandfather or  great-great-grandmother  were 
within  the  prohibited  bounds,  and  that  whether 
the  connecting  link  was  one  of  consanguinity 
or  formed  by  the  spiritual  relation  of  godfather 
or  godmother.  If  at  any  point  within  that  se- 
ries of  generations  It  could  be  shown  that  one 


CLERICAL   MORALITY.  28 1 

pair  had  been  so  united,  unless  corrected  by  a 
papal  dispensation  it  would  invalidate  the  legit- 
imacy of  all  descended  from  them.  By  this 
means  were  brought  into  the  church  courts  all 
questions  of  legitimate  birth  and  of  hereditary 
inheritance. 

In  a  population  so  small  as  that  of  Scotland, 
with  a  clan  system  pervading  so  much  of  it, 
persons  not  versed  in  that  kind  of  lor'e  might 
very  ignorantly  and  innocently  wed  within  the 
prohibited  eight  degrees,  and  among  the  no- 
bility to  avoid  it  must  have  required  no  little 
circumspection.  As  the  Church  or  some  church- 
man was,  in  many  cases  of  disputed  succession, 
the  adverse  claimant,  such  mistakes  contributed 
to  increase  the  ecclesiastical  wealth  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  laity,  and  to  the  alienation  of  their 
good-will.  This  extravagant  law  had  also  its 
immoral  consequences.  Persons  wishing  to 
marry  within  the  prohibited  degrees  would 
sometimes  obtain  a  papal  dispensation  for  the 
purpose,  thereby  making  the  moral  character 
of  the  act  depend  upon  the  decision  of  the 
pope.  Others — and  such  cases  were  not  un- 
frequent,  it  seems — would  contract  marriage 
with  the  intention  of  procuring  the  papal  dis- 
pensation afterward,  but  upon  experience  of  a 
few  months  or  years  prefer  to  separate  without 
applying  for  it,  or  continue  to  live  together  on 
such   terms   that   they   might  separate    at   any 


282  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

time.  And  even  when  the  parties  stood  to  all 
appearance  outside  of  the  sacred  circle,  but  in 
the  course  of  their  married  life  tired  of  each 
other,  it  proved  in  many  instances  to  be  no 
difficult  matter  to  discover  some  link  of  kin- 
ship, natural  or  spiritual,  to  invalidate  their 
union  and  justify  them  in  considering  it  null. 
The  better  class  of  churchmen  and  of  laymen 
lamented  these  evils.  An  archbishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  in  a  letter  of  information  for  the 
pope,  recounts  them  with  regret,  but  neither 
he  nor  the  pope  seems  to  have  thought  of  a 
remedy. 

Excommunication,  the  highest  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal punishments,  depriving  a  man  of  social  and 
civil  as  well  as  church  privileges,  had  latterly 
been  too  frequently  inflicted,  in  most  countries 
of  Western  Europe,  to  retain  its  earlier  terrors. 
In  Scotland,  from  the  working  together  of  civil 
and  canon  law,  it  had  become  disgracefully  com- 
mon, and  yet  sufficiently  in  force  to  be  an  instru- 
ment of  great  legal  severity.  Under  the  name 
of  ''  cursing  "  it  had  come  to  be  ''  the  prelimina- 
ry step  of  a  warrant  for  arrest  and  imprison- 
ment, and  for  the  impounding  and  seizure  of 
goods.  Hence,  'letters  of  cursing'  were  as 
much  the  usual  order  in  debit-and-credit  trans- 
actions as  any  common  writ  of  later  times  for 
seizing  the  person  and  distraining  the  goods." 
In  the  case  of  persons  unable  to  pay  tithes,  or 


CLERICAL   MORALITY.  283 

Other  church  dues,  the  cursing  was  felt  to  be 
especially  offensive.  Tithes  exacted  in  kind 
continued  to  increase  in  value,  while  the  land 
tithed  stood  in  a  different  relation  to  its  owners 
and  cultivators.  In  many  cases  much  had  been 
laid  out  on  its  improvement,  and  the  fruit  of 
other  men's  labors  had  greatly  augmented  the 
value  of  the  proportion  furnished  by  it  for 
those  to  whom  it  owed  nothing-.  Distraining- 
was  felt  to  be  singularly  offensive  in  that  case, 
especially  to  the  small  landowners  and  farmers, 
whose  own  parsimonious  industry  perhaps  had 
just  brought  their  property  to  the  condition  of 
supporting  their  families.  But  the  tithes  were 
exacted  from  those  to  whom  they  were  most 
oppressive,  like  other  debts,  by  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal process  of  cursing.  Excommunication  of  a 
poor  man  for  his  poverty  was  grievous  enough, 
but  when  inflicted  as  the  first  step  in  a  process 
of  distressing  for  debt,  it  was  of  a  nature  to 
kindle  a  fire  of  indignation  against  those  from 
whom  it  proceeded. 

Besides  tithes,  there  were  other  church  dues 
and  perquisites  of  clerical  place,  some  of  which, 
falling  upon  families  in  times  of  affliction,  press- 
ed with  an  aggravated  cruelty.  Such  were  the 
priest's  perquisites  upon  the  occasion  of  death 
in  a  family,  when  the  vicar  claimed  for  his  ser- 
vices, real  or  constructive,  certain  compensation. 
In  the  family  of  a  farmer  this  entided  him  to  one 


284  THE    CHURCH  IM  SCOTLAND. 

of  the  cows,  and  what  was  called  the  "upmost 
cloth"  or  outer  garment  of  the  departed;  nor 
does  it  seem  to  have  been  usual  to  remit  the 
claim  if  the  clothing  of  the  family  was  already 
too  scant  or  if  the  one  cow  was  all  the  poor 
man  had.  Many  people  were  reduced,  by  re- 
peated exactions,  from  a  humble  independence 
to  absolute  beggary,  while  the  wealth  and  lux- 
ury of  the  exactors  were  daily  increasing.  Can 
it  be  doubted  that  the  ecclesiastical  cursings  had 
their  responses  dark  and  deep  in  thousands  of 
agonized  hearts  all  over  the  land  ? 

Such  were  facts  which,  when  exposed  by  the 
most  popular  writers  of  the  age,  found  no  de- 
nial. In  this  respect  the  writings  of  Sir  David 
Lindsay  are  of  much  historical  value.  Exten- 
sively popular,  read  among  all  classes,  they 
abound  in  censure  of  prevailing  vice  and  of 
abuses  in  both  Church  and  State.  The  clergy 
are  not  spared,  but  the  theme  of  satire  was  not 
denied.  It  was  admitted  that  such  things  ought 
to  be  corrected,  but  no  correction  by  the  author- 
ities was  ever  made. 

Moreover,  this  draining  of  the  people  was 
enrichinor  a  class  of  men  who  held  themselves 
to  be  the  subjects  of  a  foreign  potentate,  at 
w^hose  court  they  plead  in  preference  to  that 
of  their  native  monarch.  Was  it  surprising 
that  the  people  should  detest  the  whole  system 
and  seek  to  expel  it  from  their  country?     The 


CLERICAL   MORALITY.  285 

more  education  advanced  among  them,  and  the 
fuller  their  knowledge  of  the  existing  state  of 
things,  the  more  rational  their  hatred  became. 
Were  they  zealots  because  they  desired  free- 
dom from  such  unbearable  servitude  ?  Then 
"zealot"  must  have  a  nobler  meaning-  than  we 
have  given  it  credit  for. 

Sir  David  Lindsay  was  a  courtier  from  his 
youth — one  of  the  most  accomplished  men  of 
his  time,  of  gay  and  lively  temperament,  of  ready 
wit  and  great  affluence  of  thought,  which,  if 
not  deep,  was  always  clear.  His  scholarship 
and  correct  moral  character  recommended  him 
as  a  proper  companion  for  the  young  king  ;  and 
after  James  V.  arrived  at  actual  sovereignty  he 
received  the  office  of  chief  herald  for  Scotland, 
under  the  title  of  "Lion  king  at  arms."  In  that 
capacity  he  was  connected  with  various  embas- 
sies to  the  court  of  the  emperor,  to  that  of  the 
king  of  France  and  to  that  of  Denmark.  Lind- 
say, although  observing  the  Catholic  w^orship  and 
reverencing  its  authorities,  when  conformable  to 
their  own  recognized  principles,  was  a  fearless 
exposer  of  malpractices.  What  the  people  in 
their  private  thoughts  felt  to  be  wTong,  Lindsay 
subjected  to  ridicule  in  songs,  tales  and  dramas, 
which  carried  exposure  of  it  all  over  the  land. 
People  enjoyed  his  rhymes  and  laughed  at  his 
wit,  but  were  roused  to  indignation  by  his  un- 
veilinof  of  their  wTonors.     Of  all  agencies  eoine 


286  THE    CHURCH   IN  SCOTLAND. 

to  effect  a  common  understandlne  amono-  Intel- 
ligent  people  on  the  subject  of  their  respec- 
tive grievances,  and  thereby  bringing  about  a 
nationaHty  of  sentiment  in  detestation  of  that 
bondage  of  separate  individuals  and  families 
into  one  common  burst  of  hatred  aeainst  the 
common  evil,  the  greatest  were  the  poems  of 
David  Lindsay.  That  persecution  did  not  cut 
him  off  was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  confined  his 
criticism  to  abuses  which  no  authority  denied  or 
presumed  to  defend.  He  was  not,  however,  in- 
consistent with  himself,  and  when  the  reforming 
purpose  had,  in  course  of  things,  created  a  par- 
ty in  the  politics  of  the  country,  he  took  a  place 
in  its  ranks,  willing  to  follow  men  better  quali- 
fied to  be  leaders.  His  death  occurred  shortly 
before  1558.  Although  he  did  not  live  to  see 
the  triumph  of  the  Reformation,  his  work  played 
an  important  part  among  the  causes  which  led 
to  it. 


CHAPTER   III. 

TRUTH   AND    ERROR. 

THERE  is  no  power  among  men  equal  to  a 
doctrine  clearly  apprehended  and  firmly  be- 
lieved. It  gives  aim  and  concentrated  purpose 
to  the  individual  mind,  and  combines  as  one  man 
the  multitude  actuated  by  it.  Call  it  by  what 
name  you  may — a  scheme  if  among  merchants  ; 
a  policy  among  statesmen  ;  an  idea  or  system 
among  philosophers  ;  or  a  faith  in  religion — a 
DOCTRINE  is  the  most  cogent  of  all  thinos  in 
human  affairs. 

What  great  act  was  ever  performed  without 
such  a  stimulus?  What  nation  ever  rose  above 
insignificance  without  it?  There  have  been  men, 
as  there  have  been  nations,  who  have  never  ap- 
prehended any  doctrine  firmly  enough  to  be  im- 
pelled to  any  sacrifice  for  it ;  but  they  are,  and 
always  have  been,  of  that  flabby,  undecided 
character  which,  if  it  has  done  little  g-ood  in 
the  world,  has  indulged  in  an  abundance  of 
evil.  Doctrine  is  morally  the  bony  frame  of 
human  character.  A  man  without  a  doctrine  is 
a  pliant  piece  of  clay,  unreliable  and  doubtful. 


288  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

He  may  be  a  man  whose  purpose  is  to  behave 
hnnself  properly  In  a  general  way,  or  may  car- 
ry his  lack  of  aim  so  far  as  to  have  no  attach- 
ment to  any  principle ;  but  he  is  not  the  man 
to  be  relied  upon  in  a  time  of  need,  nor  to  leave 
any  mark  of  himself  for  good.  To  leave  deep 
enough  impressions  of  evil  needs  neither  doc- 
trine nor  discipline. 

Conviction  of  the  truth  of  a  doctrine  is  some- 
times reached  by  mere  habit  of  mind  in  hearing 
it  taught  and  recommended  as  the  only  right 
thing,  and  sometimes  by  finding  the  various 
parts  of  which  it  consists  fitting  neatly  into 
one  another  and  making  a  consistent  whole. 
Many  of  our  common  beliefs  have  no  better 
foundation.  On  either  of  these  grounds  men 
are  capable  of  believing — honestly  believing — 
doctrines  which,  when  compared  with  the  real 
outside  world,  are  found  to  be  utterly  untenable. 
It  is  quite  possible  in  either  of  these  two  ways  to 
believe  firmly  in  great  error,  and  to  defend  it 
with  all  the  zeal  and  concentrated  energy  of  a 
national  or  party  policy.  A  doctrine  merely  con- 
sistent in  its  own  constituent  parts  and  incul- 
cated by  systematic  teaching,  and  resisting 
comparison  with  things  outside  of  its  own 
circle,  may  hold  its  ground  indefinitely  and 
wield  the  controlling  and  fortifying  power  of 
truth.  But  when,  instead  of  being  a  mere  fab- 
ric built  of  assumptions  of  the  mind,  it  is  the 


TRUTH  AND   ERROR.  289 

fruit  of  a  full  and  fair  comparison  of  all  things 
properly  concerned  in  it,  a  power  is  constituted 
which  nothing  can  shake  as  long  as  the  knowl- 
edge of  it  is  maintained. 

Upon  doctrine,  and  some  sound  doctrine,  was 
the  religion  of  Scotland  founded  as  it  stood  in 
the  fifteenth  century.  But  much  of  it  also  had 
no  better  foundation  than  tradition  and  inner 
concinnity ;  and  the  most  chimerical  doctrines 
w^ere  the  most  persistently  forced  upon  the 
public  faith.  All  of  them  were  capable  of  a 
plausible  proof,  but  so  long  had  it  been  the  cus- 
tom to  take  their  truth  for  granted  that  the  cler- 
gy were  provoked  by  any  requirement  for  proof. 
As  long  as  the  clergy  were  the  stronger  it  was 
easier  to  prohibit  inquiry  than  to  furnish  evi- 
dence. 

The  doctrine  that  a  piece  of  bread  could  be 
changed  into  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  by  a  few 
words  of  a  priest  was  certainly  startling  to  com- 
mon sense  where  common  sense  was  free.  A 
little  education  and  thinking  did  that  service. 
With  some  timidity,  no  doubt,  was  that  step 
taken  by  most  people  in  the  first  instance. 
When  common  sense  beean  to  assert  her 
view  of  the  case,  the  next  care  was  to  know 
what  Scripture  said  about  it.  And  when  the 
discovery  was  made  that  Scripture  and  com- 
mon sense  were  on  the  same  side,  it  be- 
came  impossible   to   believe    a  doctrine   which 

19 


290  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

contradicted  both.  The  only  remaining  argu- 
ment by  which  to  maintain  it  was  that  of  force. 
If  men  could  not  be  reasoned  into  belief,  they 
might  be  intimidated  into  compliance. 

That  although  all  men  are  wicked,  yet  all 
who  are  in  the  Catholic  Church  will  be  saved 
some  time,  through  the  merits  of  the  Saviour, 
is  entirely  consistent  with  both  Scripture  and 
good  sense.  But  what  it  was  to  be  in  the 
Catholic  Church  admitted  of  discussion,  and 
the  time  when  to  be  saved  left  a  terrible  gap 
open.  That  gap  was  bridged  over,  in  the  fif- 
teenth century  as  in  many  foregoing  centuries, 
in  an  ingenious  mechanical  way,  thus :  Christ 
saves  all  Catholics  from  eternal  punishment, 
but  each  one  of  them  must  meet  the  account 
for  his  own  actual  sins,  and  suffer  the  penalty 
in  this  life  or  in  the  intermediate  state.  That 
suffering  may  be  of  any  conceivable  duration 
before  the  day  of  judgment.  Fortunately,  there 
had  been  some  men  and  women  so  holy  as  to 
have  credit  for  more  good  works  than  they 
needed  for  their  own  salvation.  Upon  death 
they  went  straight  to  heaven,  and  their  surplus 
goodness  was  there  collected  in  a  common 
treasury,  a  sort  of  bank  of  deposit,  which  was 
safely  locked  that  none  of  it  might  escape  use- 
lessly. The  key  of  that  treasury  of  merit  was 
put  into  the  hands  of  the  pope,  and  to  him  be- 
longed the  right  to  draw  from  it  at  pleasure  for 


TRUTH  AND   ERROR.  29! 

his  own  use  or  the  use  of  others.  By  apply- 
ing to  imperfectly  sanctified  souls  as  much  of 
that  hoarded  merit  as  was  needed  to  make  up 
their  deficit,  they  could  be  at  once  prepared 
to  ascend  to  heaven,  even  from  the  fiames  of 
purgatory.  Or  a  limited  amount  of  the  treas- 
ure could  be  conferred  upon  a  living  sinner  to 
do  away  with  a  corresponding  amount  of  sin. 
The  pope  had  only  to  draw  his  check  upon  the 
bank  of  heaven  in  favor  of  the  person  who  ap- 
plied for  it,  and  the  paper  would  be  honored 
by  St.  Peter.  A  very  neatly-jointed  doctrine 
was  that,  complete  and  harmonious  in  itself — a 
perfect  beauty  of  construction.  To  men  who 
never  concerned  themselves  to  look  into  the 
solidity  of  its  foundations,  or  the  truth  of  its 
several  parts,  it  was  entirely  credible — as  easy 
to  believe  in  as  the  Bank  of  England. 

But  there  was  an  addition  made  to  it,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  perfectly  consistent  with  the 
symmetry  of  the  rest,  which  brought  it  too 
closely  into  practical  comparison  wdth  affairs 
of  the  business  world :  that  was  the  reason- 
able condition  that  the  pope  should  receive 
some  compensation  for  his  trouble.  Consist- 
ently, he  ought  to  have  been  content  with  a 
percentage  of  the  treasure  he  was  dealing  in  ; 
but  he  preferred  earthly  cash,  and  sent  out  his 
agents  to  sell  his  bonds  for  what  they  would 
bring — an    inexpedient    measure,    forcing    the 


292  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

whole  doctrine  into  the  sphere  of  ordinary 
business,  and  upon  the  common  sense  of  the 
pubhc,  where  common  sense  was  at  home. 
The  factitious  character  of  the  papal  proceed- 
ing in  the  case  could  not  escape  the  detection 
of  minds  moderately  well  educated,  and  free 
enough  to  think  their  own  thoughts.  To  ex- 
amine the  doctrine  from  that  point  of  view  was 
to  disintegrate  it,  and  to  call  every  element  of 
it  into  question.  Some  of  those  elements  were 
assumed  above  the  sphere  of  common  sense. 
It  became  necessary  to  find  out  if  they  were 
contained  in  the  Scriptures.  Upon  seeking  for 
them  in  vain  in  that  quarter,  belief  in  them 
vanished  and  the  whole  structure  ceased  to  be 
credible. 

While  the  public  mind  was  extensively  occu- 
pied with  such  inquiries,  a  great  impulse  was 
given  to  the  publication  of  the  Bible,  and  to 
the  translation  of  it  into  various  languages.  In 
Scotland  the  translation  made  by  Wycliff  was 
as  accessible  as  in  England,  and  books  pre- 
senting the  substance  of  Scripture  doctrine, 
facts  and  truth  in  a  popular  manner  were  wide- 
ly published.  Some  of  Sir  David  Lindsay's 
poems  were  of  that  nature.*  The  conviction 
was  becoming  more  common  also  that  Holy 
Scripture  was  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  of 
practical  religion. 

While  this  process  was  going  on  among  the 


TRUTH  AND   ERROR.  293 

laity  In  general  and  a  few  of  the  clergy,  the 
greater  number  of  the  latter  went  on  in  the 
old  way,  creating  their  god,  holding  him  up 
for  adoration,  and  then  eating  him,  pardoning 
sins  and  taking  their  pay  for  It,  and  so  on,  as 
if  no  lIo;ht  had  been  breakinof  In  about  them. 
Respect  began  to  withdraw  from  their  prac- 
tices. People  treated  the  errors,  which  they 
saw  through,  according  to  their  disposition  and 
mental  enlightenment.  Some  ridiculed  them  ; 
others  indignantly  censured  the  then  existing 
system  of  religion  as  one  of  Impudent  false- 
hood ;  while  others  reasoned  against  it  out  of 
Scripture,  proving  that  wherein  the  Church 
differed  from  Scripture  It  was  In  the  wrong. 

The  clergy,  who  made  no  denial  of  the  com- 
monness of  Immorality  among  men  of  their 
order,  nor  defence  of  the  abuses  whereof  they 
were  charged,  had  their  own  way  of  explaining 
and  defending  their  doctrines.  To  the  really 
believing  Catholic  priest  the  internal  consist- 
ency of  his  doctrines  was  sufficient  satisfaction, 
because  the  Church  was  the  authority  for  the 
truth  of  all  its  Ingredients.  His  mind  was  not 
free  to  go  beyond  the  supreme  decision  of  the 
Church.  Scripture,  to  his  mind,  meant  only 
what  the  Church  determined  it  to  mean.  The 
Church  was  to  him  the  interpreter  of  Scripture. 
Beyond  that  traditional  interpretation  he  could 
not  go.     He  might  read  the  Bible  as  well  as 


294  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Others,  but  in  reading  it  his  mind  was  overawed 
by  a  greater  and  supreme  authority.  Accord- 
ingly, there  were  CathoHcs  who  beheved  the 
doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Church  as  hon- 
estly as  many  disbelieved  them. 

The  parties  were  soon  arrayed  around  two 
great  centres  respectively,  the  traditional  judg- 
ments of  the  Church  on  one  side,  and  Scripture, 
as  addressing  the  individual  judgment,  on  the 
other.  The  controversy  became  one  of  doc- 
trine. Priests  could  hear  their  faults  reproved, 
and  content  themselves  with  promising  meas- 
ures of  amendment,  but  to  attack  their  doctrines 
was  fatally  to  damage  the  whole  system  to  which 
they  belonged.  Moreover,  on  this  question  the 
parties  did  not  occupy  a  common  ground  of  con- 
troversy. Though  both  accepting  Scripture,  it 
was  in  an  entirely  different  way.  The  priests 
admitted  no  other  but  church  interpretation,  but 
they  could  not  impress  that  upon  men  who  felt 
the  force  of  the  grammatical  and  logical  inter- 
pretation. What,  then,  was  to  be  done  to  stop 
the  progress  of  increasing  dissent  ?  In  reality, 
the  hierarchy  were  reduced  to  the  last  argu- 
ment of  force,  if  they  were  to  make  any  resist- 
ance at  all.  Some  good,  well-meaning  men 
among  them  did  attempt  other  means.  In- 
struction for  the  people,  in  such  doctrines  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  in  such  a  way  as  seemed 
most  likely  to  win  back  to  her  fold  those  who 


TRUTH  AND   ERROR.  295 

had  not  too  far  gone  astray,  was  provided  in 
the  Aberdeen  Breviary  and  Archbishop  Hamil- 
ton's Catechism,  but  not  until  too  late — not  un- 
til the  nation  had  been  hopelessly  alienated  by 
severities  of  persecution  never  to  be  forgotten, 
not  until  Reformation  instruction  had  gone  far 
beyond  the  capacity  of  Catholic  lessons. 

^  Touching  other  matters,  criticism,  ridicule,  in- 
dignation, even  hatred,  might  assail  the  hierar- 
chy without  provoking  more  than  a  warning, 
perhaps  might  be  appeased  with  an  apology ;' 
but  on  the  subject  of  doctrine  the  conflict  was 
deadly.  No  penalty  was  deemed  adequate  to 
the  guilt  of  heresy  but  the  appalling  death  by 
fire,  which  represented  the  punishment  of  the 
damned. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

JOHN  MAJOR. 

IN  the  year  1523,  John  Major,  who  had  been 
for  several  years  a  professor  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Glasgow,  was  transferred  to  St.  Andrews. 
It  was  his  fortune  to  be  concerned  in  educating 
and  giving  particular  bent  to  the  minds  of  cer- 
tain youth  who  were  to  be  leaders  in  the  great 
coming  revolution.  In  his  classes  at  Glasgow 
he  had  seen  John  Knox,  and  in  those  at  St. 
Andrews  he  met  George  Buchanan.  Their  in- 
debtedness to  him  was  subsequently  acknowl- 
edged by  both.  Patrick  Hamilton,  Henry  Bal- 
navis,  and  others  who  defended  the  same  cause, 
came  also  under  his  influence.  Whether  Knox 
followed  his  teacher  to  St.  Andrews  or  not,  he 
was  soon  after  associated  in  study  with  the  illus- 
trious group  connected  with  that  university. 

John  Major  was  one  of  those  men  whose 
personal  influence  far  exceeds  the  value  of  any 
contribution  made  by  them  to  the  sum  of  human 
knowledge  or  wisdom.  It  is  a  gift  of  Nature  not 
to  be  lightly  esteemed — that  by  which  impres- 
siveness  is  given  to  commonplace  learning  and 
to  wisdom  and  virtue,  the  inheritance  of  ages.    It 

296 


JOHN  MAJOR,  297 

js  a  power.  There  are  men  whose  affluence  of 
thought  is  practically  boundless,  and  whose  orig- 
inality is  ever  turning  up  new  aspects  of  things, 
who  yet,  in  their  own  lifetime,  never  secure  an 
average  respect  for  their  opinions  or  their  per- 
sons. They  walk  among  common  men  with  so 
little  mark  of  their  greatness  about  them  that 
every  one  feels  himself  in  some  respects,  and 
especially  as  a  common-sense  man,  their  supe- 
rior. Yet  the  world  will  read  what  they  write, 
or  listen  with  the  most  interested  attention  to 
their  reported  sayings,  or  behold  the  material 
fruits  of  their  genius  with  admiration,  and  when 
they  have  personally  disappeared  for  ever  the 
place  they  have  left  grows  bigger  in  the  eyes 
of  succeeding  generations.  Such  men  are  like 
preachers  with  a  poor  delivery.  The  sermon  is 
well  prepared,  it  is  even  superior  in  richness  of 
instruction,  but  the  preacher  seems  to  take  little 
interest  in  it,  seems  to  think  that  there  is  noth- 
ing of  importance  in  it ;  and  his  hearers  take  it 
at  his  own  estimate.  Or  they  are  like  a  good 
book  in  the  hands  of  a  helpless  publisher,  who 
prints  it,  and  stows  it  away,  to  let  it  take  its 
chance  ;  enterprising  research  may  find  it  some 
time.  On  the  other  hand,  the  world  is  largely 
indebted  to  men  w^io  have  the  power  of  delivery 
— men  who  can  set  themselves  and  their  instruc- 
tions in  such  a  light  that  the  world  will  recog- 
nize them  for  what  they  are.    The  multitude  of 


298  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

mankind  are  not  discoverers,  and  need  to  be 
impressed  with  its  value  before  they  can  think 
anything-  worth  looking  into.  It  is  well  that 
there  are  some  men  of  that  impressive  person- 
ality which  propitiates  respect.  They  are  not 
sources  of  thought ;  they  are  invaluable  reser- 
voirs of  force.  The  man  who  takes  the  sermon 
which  was  smothered  in  birth  by  its  author,  and 
with  it  thrills  the  hearts  of  all  who  hear  him, 
has  inspired  it  with  the  new  life  of  his  own 
personality. 

John  Major  was  certainly  a  power  in  his  day. 
Without  any  great  reach  of  thought  or  origi- 
nating capacity  or  attractions  of  literary  style, 
he  made  an  impression  upon  the  youth  who 
attended  his  instructions,  and  established  for 
himself  the  weight  of  an  authority  in  church 
matters,  even  over  men  of  greater  originality 
than  himself.  Having  lectured  in  Paris,  as  well 
as  in  the  highest  seats  of  learning  in  Scotland, 
his  reputation  became  quite  extended.  His 
published  commentaries  on  Scripture,  or  on  the 
celebrated  Books  of  Sentences,  may  be  of  little 
or  no  practical  value ;  the  topics  on  which  he 
loves  to  dilate  may  be,  in  some  cases,  utterly 
useless,  and  the  style  in  which  he  writes,  dry 
and  barren;  his  history  of  Scotland  may  have 
nothing  to  recommend  it,  either  in  original  re- 
search or  literary  attractions ;  and  yet  that  is 
not  enough  to   justify   us    in    discrediting    the 


JOHN  MAJOR.  299 

effects  he  is  said  to  have  produced.  Those 
effects  were  of  a  kind  which  go  to  make  up  a 
great  part  of  the  character  of  a  successful 
teacher,  who  has  necessarily  more  to  do  with 
already  known  truth  than  with  original  discov- 
ery ;  more  to  do  with  making  things  clear  to 
the  understanding  than  attractive  to  the  fancy ; 
more  to  do  with  instilling  into  the  young  mind 
that  which  will  help  to  put  it  on  a  par  with  the 
already  educated,  than  with  exploring  new  fields 
of  science  or  research ;  more  to  do  with  the 
tongue  than  the  pen.  He  was  a  faithful  Cath- 
olic, and  an  advocate  of  papalism,  who  defend- 
ed some  of  its  absurdest  tenets  with  arguments 
on  which  only  a  servile  superstition  could  lean. 
He  had  been  trained  in  the  scholastic  theology, 
and  adhered  scrupulously  to  its  minute  and 
shallow  method  of  reasoning ;  and  readers  of 
his  works  testify  that  their  drudgery  has  been 
but  scantily  repaid  with  a  grain  of  truth  now 
and  then  from  pages  of  rubbish.  And  yet 
when  some  of  those  grains  amounted  to  doc- 
tines  learned  in  the  school  where  Gerson  and 
D'Ailly  had  taught,  they  could  not  be  without 
weight  upon  the  minds  of  youth  ardently  pur- 
suing knowledge  in  the  beginning  of  the  six- 
teenth century. 

Major  was  born  in  the  neighborhood  of 
North  Berwick  in  the  year  1469.  He  studied 
at  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  but  for  longer  time 


300  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

in  Paris,  where  he  also  began  his  career  as  a  lec- 
turer. After  holding  a  professorship  In  Glas- 
gow for  a  few  years,  he  returned  to  Paris,  but 
came  back  to  Glasgow  to  accept  the  situation 
of  principal  and  professor  of  theology  In  the 
university  there.  In  1523  he  removed  to  the 
chair  of  philosophy  and  theology  In  St.  An- 
drews, where  he  was  still  residing  In  1547. 
The  greater  part  of  his  education  had  been 
received  In  France,  the  country  which  had  been 
amonof  the  first  and  the  loudest  In  demandlne  a 
regular  and  authoritative  reformation  of  eccle- 
siastical abuses,  and  where  the  reforms  of  the 
Council  of  Basel  were  still  In  force.  It  needed 
little  originality  for  a  pupil  of  Galllcanism  In 
those  days  to  apprehend  the  doctrine  that  a 
general  council  was  superior  to  a  pope,  and 
competent  to  bring  him  to  trial,  subject  him  to 
censure  or  depose  him  from  office.  The  new 
professor  at  St.  Andrews  also  denied  the  tem- 
poral supremacy  of  the  pope,  and  that  he  had 
any  right  to  set  up  and  put  down  princes.  Ec- 
clesiastical censures,  even  papal  excommunica- 
tion, he  declared  to  be  of  no  force,  unless  pro- 
nounced for  sufficient  reasons.  Tithes  In  the 
Christian  Church,  he  taught,  were  not  of  divine 
but  human  appointment.  He  hesitated  not  to 
censure  the  extravagance  and  vices  of  the  pa- 
pal and  episcopal  style  of  living,  and  the  evils 
undeniable  among  the  monkish  orders,  and  "  ad- 


JOHN  MAJOR.  301 

vised  the  reduction  of  monasteries."  Still  more 
radical  was  the  doctrine  he  held  concerning  the 
civil  ruler — that  a  king,  though  superior  to  any 
one  of  his  subjects,  is  not  superior  to  them  as 
a  whole,  in  their  capacity  as  a  nation — that  if  he 
rules  to  the  injury  of  his  people  he  may  be  law- 
fully controlled  by  them,  deposed  or  prosecuted 
to  capital  punishment. 

On  none  of  these  points  was  Major  an  orig- 
inating teacher ;  but  the  position  which  he  occu- 
pied at  Glasgow,  and  afterward  at  St.  Andrews, 
and  his  own  personal  character,  conferred  upon 
them  a  great  weight  of  importance  in  the  eyes 
of  those  to  whom  they  were  addressed,  and  to 
whom  they  were  really  novel.  Some  of  them 
proved  to  be  seeds  planted  in  soil  where  they 
were  subsequently  to  develop  into  a  growth 
which  the  teacher  perhaps  never  anticipated. 
They  were  only  related  to  religion,  but  the  pro- 
mulgation of  them  in  Scotland,  at  that  juncture, 
suggested  or  sustained  opinions  and  expecta- 
tions without  which  the  Reformation  could  not 
have  been  effected. 

Statesmen  and  impoverished  nobility  had  long 
been  looking  with  jealous  eyes  upon  the  wealth 
and  power  of  churchmen,  which  they  saw  in- 
creasing at  their  own  expense.  Ideas  of  repri- 
sals had  crossed  their  minds,  but  a  ground  of 
justification,  by  which  a  party  could  sustain  it- 
self, was  lackincr.     The  ecclesiastical  laws  were 


302  THR    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

dangerous  to  brave,  and  they  were  yoked  with 
those  of  the  realm.  The  civil  authorities  had 
sometimes  been  constrained  to  bow  before 
them.  Now,  here  comes  a  great  doctor  in 
theology,  laden  with  the  learning  of  the  uni- 
versities of  England  and  France,  who  teaches 
that  the  Church  has  no  right  to  subordinate  the 
civil  government ;  that  even  the  pope  is  amen- 
able to  a  council,  and  may  be  deposed  if  guilty 
of  great  sin ;  that  the  corruption  prevailing 
among  bishops  and  monks  is  very  great,  and 
that  of  the  monastic  orders,  at  least,  is  such 
that  it  might  be  a  righteous  act  to  diminish  the 
number  of  their  houses.  Such  doctrine,  distrib- 
uted by  various  channels,  found  docile  listeners 
among  men  exasperated  by  long-contiued  ag- 
gressions from  the  clerical  side.  It  prepared 
the  way  for  many  worldly  men  to  join  the  grow- 
ing Reformation  interest — men  who  looked  only 
to  the  transfer  of  power  and  property.  It  pre- 
pared political  or  family  parties  to  regard  the 
change  of  religion  favorably,  in  the  light  of 
policy. 

But,  above  all  else  that  it  effected,  the  teach- 
ing of  the  learned  professor  started  a  few  of  his 
own  zealous  pupils,  at  the  head  of  whom  were 
George  Buchanan  and  John  Knox,  on  a  course 
of  thinking  destined  to  sift  the  rights  of  all 
powers  and  potentates  of  earth,  and  even  to 
try  the  spirits  whether  they  were  of  God. 


CHAPTER    V. 

PATRICK   HAMILTON. 

MANY  things  combined  to  urge  forward  the 
Reformation  in  Scotland.  It  was  not  sin- 
gly prompted  by  rehgious  motives,  not  singly 
by  moral  considerations,  nor  by  oppression,  nor 
by  jealousy  of  foreign  influence  and  alienation 
of  native  resources ;  politics  also  entered,  as 
inevitably  they  will  in  all  national  affairs,  and 
the  cupidity  of  covetous  men,  eager  to  avail 
themselves  of  all  changes  to  advance  their  own 
gains.  Yet,  after  all,  the  hinge  of  the  whole 
controversy  was  Christian  doctrine.  But  for 
that,  it  would  never  have  reached  to  a  revo- 
lution. Evils  encrusted  upon  the  church  sys- 
tem might  have  been  removed  without  break- 
ing down  the  system,  and  might  have  left  it  in 
a  better  condition  to  hold  its  own.  But  the  life 
of  the  system,  and  all  that  could  give  it  rever- 
ence in  the  eyes  of  intelligent  adherents,  was 
doctrine.  If  that  should  prove  corrupt,  no  re- 
form of  anything  else  could  save  it.  To  con- 
tend for  that  was  to  do  battle  for  existence.  It 
was  that  which  evoked  the  apprehensions  and 


304  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

hatred  of  the  hierarchy.  To  attack  doctrine 
was  to  incur  the  most  terrible  of  penalties. 
For  that  had  Resby,  Craw  and  others  in  Scot- 
land, and  a  great  number  in  England,  perished 
in  the  flames. 

Those  early  martyrs  for  the  Reformation,  un- 
sustained  by  numbers,  disappeared  in  darkness. 
By  the  multitude  they  were  regarded  as  the 
worst  of  criminals,  and  the  instructed  few  were 
discouraged  by  their  fate — discouraged  from  put- 
ting forth  effort  publicly  in  the  cause.  A  change, 
notwithstanding,  was  going  on,  and  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century  it  advanced  with 
accelerating  rapidity. 

So  far,  executions  for  religion's  sake  had  been 
few  in  Scotland  as  compared  with  those  of 
England  and  France.  The  long  endurance  of 
the  Scottish  people  had  procured  them  a  repu- 
tation for  adherence  to  the  Romish  faith.  But 
endurance  awaited  only  satisfactory  conviction. 
Printed  translations  of  the  Scriptures  began  with 
the  year  1526,  by  the  cheapness  of  their  price,  to 
bring  the  admitted  standard  of  religion  within 
reach  of  all  who  could  read  the  common  tongue 
of  England  and  the  Scottish  Lowlands.  Books 
written  in  Latin  by  the  continental  Reformers 
began  also  to  arrive  from  Germany,  producing 
their  immediate  effects  upon  the  better  educa- 
ted. Great  numbers,  high  and  low,  were  found 
prepared  to   receive  the  new  instruction  with 


PATRICK  HAMILTON.  305 

avidity.  The  feeling  after  truth,  which  had  for 
at  least  three  orenerations  been  extendinor  from 
the  well-educated  to  the  less-educated  laity  by 
means  of  popular  tales,  poems,  songs,  dramas 
and  private  conversation,  eagerly  grasped  at 
any  portion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  offered  in 
the  spoken  tongue,  while  trained  thinkers  con- 
sulted with  anxiety  the  doctrinal  statements  of 
Reformed  theoloo-ians  of  other  lands.  The 
party  opposed  to  reform  w^ere  aware  of  the 
danger  to  their  cause  from  that  quarter.  Par- 
liament, July  17,  1525,  passed  an  act  prohibiting 
the  importation  of  the  books  of  Luther  or  of 
his  disciples  into  Scotland,  w'hich,  it  was  claimed, 
had  hitherto  been  always  ''  clene  of  all  sic  filth 
and  vice  " — not  quite  so  clean,  however,  as  the 
act  presumed,  as  had  appeared,  at  a  date  long 
prior  to  Luther's  appearance,  in  the  articles  and 
association  of  the  Lollards  of  Kyle  ;  while  at 
the  very  date  of  the  act  John  Major,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Forth,  was  announcing,  in  the 
hearing  of  young  and  appreciative  auditors,  cer- 
tain doctrines  of  popular  freedom  and  sovereign- 
ty which,  although  not  expressly  religious,  need- 
ed only  to  be  carried  consistently  into  practice 
to  shake  the  foundations  of  the  existing  relie- 

o  o 

ious  government  at  its  centre,  and  subject  its 
minister,  the  civil  arm,  to  the  will  of  the  people. 
One  of  those  young  contemporaries  was  soon 
afterward  on  his  way  to  Germany  to  listen  to 
20 


306  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  great  Saxon  Reformer  in  his  own  lecture- 
room. 

Patrick  Hamilton,  of  the  noble  family  of  that 
name,  a  nephew  of  the  earl  of  Arran  by  his 
father,  and  of  the  duke  of  Albany  by  his  moth- 
er, and  through  both  related  to  the  royal  fam- 
ily, was  born  in  1 504.  Designed  by  his  parents 
for  the  Church,  he  was  endowed  with  the  ab- 
bacy of  Feme  while  yet  a  child.  His  educa- 
tion was  certainly  of  the  best  order  belonging 
to  the  times.  By  some  of  the  means  of  instruc- 
tion then  multiplying  in  the  land,  before  he  was 
twenty-two  years  old  he  had  acquired  intelli- 
gence of  the  work  going  on  in  Germany.  In 
company  with  three  attendants  he  undertook  a 
journey  to  Wittenberg.  Luther  and  Melanch- 
thon  were  greatly  pleased  with  him,  and  when, 
after  studying  with  them  for  a  time,  he  left 
them,  recommended  him  to  the  university  re- 
cently established  at  Marburg  by  Philip,  land- 
grave of  Hesse.  At  the  head  of  that  institu- 
tion was  Francis  Lambert,  a  Reformed  theolo- 
gian from  Avignon,  in  whom  Hamilton  found 
a  warm  friend  and  a  faithful  instructor.^  While 
diligently  enlarging  his  knowledge  of  Reformed 
doctrine  and  of  Holy  Scripture  he  was  smitten 
with  a  zealous  desire  to  explain  the  way  of  sal- 
vation to  his  countrymen.  Not  ignorant  of  the 
danger  which  awaited  such  an  enterprise,  and 

1  Lambert  (fAvis^non,  ]-)ar  Louis  Ruffet,  prof,  a  Gendve. 


I'A  TRICK  HAMIL  TON.  307 

which  Lambert  also  set  before  him,  he  resolved 
that,  for  the  end  in  view,  it  must  be  encounter- 
ed. Attended  by  only  one  of  the  companions 
who  had  left  Scotland  with  him,  he  returned  in 
the  latter  part  of  1527. 

Young  Hamilton's  preaching  was  with  fervor 
and  tenderness,  setting  forth  the  doctrines  of 
the  gospel.  Nor  did  he  shrink  from  exposing 
the  errors  of  the  Romish  Church  and  the  vices 
which  had  crept  into  the  practices  of  the  clergy. 
Many  recognized  and  accepted  the  truth  which 
he  preached,  while  they  loved  him  for  his  gen- 
tle and  courteous  deportment  toward  all  sorts 
of  people.  Entirely  free  from  violence,  he  was 
full  of  warmth  in  proclaiming  the  message  of 
salvation.  The  treatise  which  he  wrote  to  ex- 
pound the  articles  of  religion  popularly  shows 
remarkable  clearness  of  thinking,  and  skill  in 
putting  truth  in  a  brief  and  forcible  way,  in  a 
spirit  of  tenderness.  Knox  valued  it  so  highly 
that  he  copied  the  whole  of  it  into  his  history. 

A  very  brief  time  was  allowed  him  for  the 
work  of  preaching.  The  clergy  of  St.  An- 
drews were  alarmed.  He  was  enticed  to  visit 
their  city.  When  he  arrived,  a  friar,  Alexan- 
der Campbell,  was  appointed  to  visit  and  hold 
conversation  with  him.  Campbell,  professing 
to  have  a  leaning  to  the  same  way  of  thinking, 
succeeded  in  obtainino^  a  knowledge  of  the  dif- 
ferent  points  of  his  belief,  admitting  for  his  own 


308  THE   CHURCH  IiY  SCOTLAND. 

part,  what  no  one  ventured  fully  to  deny,  that 
in  many  things  the  state  of  the  Church  needed 
to  be  reformed.  Hamilton  was  left  without 
suspicion  of  danger  until  he  was  apprehended 
by  night,  taken  from  his  bed  and  carried  pris- 
oner to  the  castle.  Next  day  he  was  charged 
before  the  primate  with  holding  and  preaching 
heresy.  A  long  list  of  doctrines  were  present- 
ed to  him,  on  which  he  was  called  to  express 
his  belief.  The  first  seven  he  held  to  be  un- 
doubtedly true,  and  was  willing  to  subscribe. 
The  rest,  he  said,  were  disputable,  but  such  as 
he  could  not  condemn  without  having  better 
reason  than  he  had  yet  heard. 

The  whole  list  was  then  committed  to  the 
judgment  of  a  council  consisting  of  the  rector 
and  the  heads  of  the  Black  and  Grey  Friars 
and  two  lawyers.  After  a  day  or  two,  these 
men  rendered  a  report  in  which  they  condemn- 
ed the  whole  list  of  articles  as  heretical  and 
contrary  to  the  faith  of  the  Church.  Sentence 
was  accordingly  pronounced  against  Patrick 
Hamilton,  giving  him  over  to  the  secular  pow- 
er to  suffer  the  penalty  of  heresy. 

The  seven  points  which  he  fully  professed  to 
believe,  and  for  which  he  suffered,  were — 

1.  Man  hath  no  free  will. 

2.  A  man  is  only  justified  by  faith  in  Christ. 

3.  A  man,  so  long  as  he  liveth,  is  not  with- 
out sin. 


PATRICK  HAMILTON.  309 

4.  He  Is  not  worthy  to  be  called  a  Christian 
who  believeth  not  that  he  is  in  grace. 

5.  A  good  man  doeth  good  works ;  good 
works  do  not  make  a  good  man. 

6.  An  evil  man  bringeth  forth  evil  works  ; 
evil  works,  being  faithfully  repented  of,  do  not 
make  an  evil  man. 

7.  Faith,  hope  and  charity  be  so  linked  to- 
gether that  one  of  them  cannot  be  without 
another,  in  one  man,  in  this  life. 

To  us  of  the  present  day  it  is  amazing  that 
the  holding  of  such  opinions  should  ever  have 
justified,  in  the  minds  of  any  men,  capital  pun- 
ishment, and  that  of  the  most  appalling  kind. 

On  that  occasion  the  primate,  James  Beaton, 
was  assisted  by  the  archbishop  of  Glasgow, 
three  bishops,  six  heads  of  monastic  houses 
and  eight  other  ecclesiastics,  who  all  set  their 
signatures  to  the  sentence.  To  give  it  the 
greater  weight,  all  persons  who  were  of  any 
estimation  in  the  university  were  required  to 
subscribe  it.  The  act  was  an  act  of  the  Cstth- 
olic  Church  of  Scotland  through  her  highest 
authorities. 

On  the  same  day  Hamilton  was  condemned 
by  the  civil  judge,  and  in  the  afternoon  led  out 
to  execution.  The  process  was  hastened,  to 
prevent  interference  on  the  part  of  the  king, 
who  was  then  absent  on  a  pilgrimage.  The 
place  of  execution  was  in  the  public  street  be- 


3IO  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

fore  the  gfate  of  St.  Salvator's  Colleo-e.  When 
he  arrived  there,  Hamilton,  with  a  gentle  delib- 
eration, put  off  his  gown,  bonnet,  coat  and  some 
other  articles  of  apparel,  and  gave  them  to  his 
servant,  saying,  "  These  will  not  profit  in  the 
fire,  but  they  will  profit  thee.  After  this,  of  me 
thou  canst  receive  no  commoditie,  except  from 
the  example  of  my  death,  which,  I  pray  thee, 
beare  in  mind ;  for  albeit  it  be  bitter  to  the 
flesh  and  feirefull  before  men,  yett  it  is  the  en- 
trance into  eternall  life,  which  none  shall  pos- 
sesse  that  deny  Christ  Jesus  before  this  wicked 
generation." 

While  being  tied  to  the  stake,  about  which 
a  great  quantity  of  combustible  material  was 
piled,  he  kept  his  eyes  steadily  turned  toward 
heaven.  The  attendants  were  awkward  in 
kindling  the  fire.  While  they  delayed  he  ad- 
dressed some  words  to  the  spectators,  but  was 
interrupted  by  the  monks,  especially  by  Friar 
Campbell,  calling  to  him  to  recant  and  to  pray 
to  the  Virgin  Mary.  He  answered  by  saying 
to  Campbell  that  he  knew  he  was  not  a  heretic, 
and  that  it  was  the  truth  of  God  for  which  he 
suft^'ered,  and  appealing  to  the  judgment-seat 
of  Christ.  When  the  fire  at  last  was  kindled 
he  was  heard  to  say  in  a  clear  voice,  ''  How 
long,  O  Lord,  shall  darkness  oppress  this 
realm  ?  How  long  wilt  thou  suffer  this  tyran- 
ny of  men  ?"     He  then  closed  with  the  words, 


PATRICK  HAMILTON.  3II 

"  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit."  His  body 
was  quickly  consumed,  for  the  fire  was  strong. 

Great  feeling  was  evinced  by  the  spectators, 
and  many  did  not  fear  to  say  that  they  believed 
Hamilton  to  be  an  innocent  man  and  a  martyr 
for  Christ.  People  also  remarked  afterward 
that  Friar  Alexander  Campbell  never  was  the 
same  man  after  that  day,  but  became  moody, 
"fell  into  a  fit  of  frenzy,"  and  died  wretchedly 
within  less  than  a  year. 

It  was  a  mistaken  policy,  on  the  part  of  the 
hierarchy,  that  atrocious  execution.  The  con- 
spicuousness  of  the  victim,  instead  of  carrying 
intimidation  abroad,  which  they  counted  on,  ex- 
cited the  more  extensive  inquiry.  Over  the 
length  and  breadth  of  Scotland  flashed  the 
startling  question,  "Why  was  Patrick  Hamil- 
ton burned  ?"  An  intelligent  and  satisfactory 
answer  could  not  be  given  without  a  statement 
of  some  Reformed  doctrine.  The  most  pow- 
erful sermon  Patrick  Hamilton  was  destined 
to  preach  was  his  own  burning  in  the  streets 
of  St.  Andrews. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

CARDINAL    BEATON. 

AMONG  the  many  tongues  set  In  motion  by 
the  burning  of  Patrick  Hamilton,  not  a  few 
were  heard  In  St.  Andrews  Itself,  and  some  were 
those  of  clergymen.  To  speak  freely  of  heresy 
and  withhold  condemnation  of  it,  or  to  express 
sympathy  with  those  who  suffered  for  It,  was 
dangerous.  But  among  men  who  thought  alike, 
and  felt  that  they  could  trust  each  other,  a  cer- 
tain freedom  of  utterance  was  Indulged,  and  that 
in  some  places  where  it  might  least  have  been 
expected.  In  St.  Leonard's  College,  under  the 
example  of  Its  principal,  Gavin  Logie,  students 
discussed  the  doctrines  of  Reformers  with  a  lack 
of  disapproval  which  brought  suspicion  upon 
themselves,  and  gave  rise  to  the  saying,  about 
one  who  might  allow  a  sentence  of  question- 
able orthodoxy  to  escape  him,  that  he  had  been 
"drinking  at  St.  Leonard's  Well."  The  opin- 
ions thus  privately  agitated  In  St.  Andrews  were, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  scattered  over  the 
country  wherever  those  young  men  resided, 
and    took    to    themselves    Inevitable    publicity. 

S12 


CARDINAL   BEATON.  313 

Five  years  later,  Gavin  Logie,  like  some 
others,  found  it  expedient  to  escape  beyond 
the  bounds  of  Scotland. 

A  similar  spirit  made  its  way  among  the 
monks  of  the  Dominican  and  Franciscan  or- 
ders in  St.  Andrews,  and,  by  connivance  of  the 
sub-prior,  John  Winram,  among  the  novices  of 
the  abbey.  Some  of  the  friars  began,  before 
the  year  of  Hamiliton's  execution  was  over,  to 
"  preach  publicly  against  the  pride  and  idle  life 
of  the  bishops,  and  against  the  abuses  of  the 
whole  ecclesiastical  state."  But  the  bishops 
were  also  aroused,  and  suspiciously  watchful. 
Censure  of  their  practices,  which  once  would 
have  been  dismissed  with  a  jest,  was  now  re- 
garded as  indicative  of  a  deeper  design  or  of 
lurking  heresy.  It  henceforth  became  danger- 
ous to  expose  the  vices  of  the  clergy.  Although 
death  could  be  lawfully  inflicted  only  for  heret- 
ical doctrine,  it  might  be  possible  to  make  out  a 
charge  of  heresy  against  a  man  from  his  assaults 
upon  clerical  character,  Avhich  would  be  sustained 
by  an  ecclesiastical  tribunal. 

One  Friar  William  preached  at  Dundee  a  ser- 
mon in  which  he  exposed  the  licentiousness  of 
bishops — perhaps  not  more  severely  than  had 
been  done  before,  but  they  were  not  now  dis- 
posed to  bear  it.  The  bishop  of  Brechin  had 
his  retainers  in  hand,  who  fell  upon  the  monk 
and  beat  him  as  being  a  heretic.     Friar  William 


3  14  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

went  to  St.  Andrews  and  consulted  John  Major 
on  the  subject  of  his  sermon.  The  learned 
professor  assured  him  that  his  doctrine  was  all 
right,  and  might  well  be  defended.  The  friar 
resolved  to  repeat  the  sermon  at  head-quarters, 
and  had  notice  given  to  that  effect.  So,  in  the 
great  church  of  St.  Andrews,  before  a  large  au- 
dience, including  several  of  the  ecclesiastical 
dignitaries,  he  rediscussed  the  clergy  and  their 
desecration  of  the  most  holy  things,  as  of  ex- 
communication— or,  as  it  was  called,  ''  cursing  " 
— and  of  miracles,  with  a  rough  humor  which 
subjected  them  to  ridicule. 

Once  more  he  ventured  on  the  theme,  and 
took  for  his  text  "  The  Abbot  of  Unreason." 
The  real  prelates  of  their  day,  he  told  the  peo- 
ple, were  as  regardless  of  divine  law  as  that 
farcical  hero  of  their  own  revels  ;  and  he  took 
occasion  to  relate  some  very  indelicate  stories 
about  prelates  then  alive.  He  withheld  prop- 
er names,  but  some  of  the  parties  happened  to 
be  well  known.  That  treatment  of  the  subject 
proved  too  serious  for  laughter,  and  the  preach- 
er, to  save  his  life,  fled  into  England ;  yet  Friar 
William  was  no  Protestant,  as  was  subsequent- 
ly proved  by  his  imprisonment  under  Henry 
VIII.    for    papalism. 

A  more  dignified  opposition  to  prevailing 
errors  was  made  by  Alexander  Seton,  a  high- 
ly respected  monk  of  the  Dominican  order,  or 


CARDINAL   BEATON.  315 

Black  Friars.  Through  the  whole  of  Lent,  suc- 
ceeding the  execution  of  Hamilton,  he  preached 
on  the  Ten  Commandments,  exposing  not  only 
actual  vice,  but  the  errors  of  doctrine  which  led 
to  or  justified  it.  He  insisted  especially  "  that 
the  law  of  God  is  the  only  rule  of  righteous- 
ness ;  that  if  God's  law  be  not  violated,  no  sin 
is  committed ;  that  it  is  not  in  man's  power  to 
satisfy  for  sin  ;  that  the  forgiveness  of  sin  is  not 
otherwise  purchased  than  by  unfeigned  repent- 
ance, true  faith  apprehending  the  mercy  of  God 
in  Christ."  Of  purgatory,  pilgrimages,  prayers 
to  saints  and  priestly  pardon,  or  indulgences, 
he  made  no  mention.  Opposition  w^as  arrayed 
against  him.  One  of  the  same  monastic  order 
was,  during  his  absence  from  St.  Andrews,  set 
up  to  counteract  his  preaching.  He  returned 
to  defend  his  ground,  but  was  reported  to  the 
archbishop,  w^ho  sent  for  him  and  took  him  to 
task  for  saying  that  a  bishop  should  be  a 
preacher,  and  that  bishops  who  did  not  preach 
were  dumb  dogs.  Seton  replied  that  his  re- 
porters had  misrepresented  him — that  the  say- 
mgs  referred  to  were  not  his,  but  contained  in 
passages  he  had  quoted  from  Isaiah  and  St. 
Paul.  The  archbishop  was  annoyed  by  feel- 
ing that  he  had  exposed  his  own  ignorance  of 
Scripture,  but  perceived  that  the  ground  he  had 
chosen  could  not  sustain  him  in  a  prosecution. 
Seton  was  dismissed.     But  beine  also  confessor 


3l6  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

to  the  king,  Seton  discovered  soon  that  the  coun- 
tenance of  His  Majesty  was  changed  toward 
him  and  withdrew  to  Berwick,  whence  he  wrote 
a  full  explanation  to  the  king.  Receiving  no 
answer  to  his  letter,  he  went  on  to  London, 
where  he  became  chaplain  to  the  duke  of  Suf- 
folk, and  in  that  capacity  continued  until  his 
death. 

About  the  same  time  Henry  Forest,  a  young 
man  of  the  order  of  Bennet  and  Collet,  had 
been  heard  to  say  that  Patrick  Hamilton  had 
died  a  martyr.  A  friar  was  appointed  to  con- 
fess him,  to  whom  he  acknowledged  that  he 
thought  "  Master  Patrick  a  good  man,  and  that 
the  articles  for  which  he  was  condemned  might 
well  be  defended."  This  confession,  being  re- 
vealed to  the  archbishop,  was  deemed  sufficient 
evidence  against  him.  He  was  forthwith  con- 
demned as  a  heretic.  While  they  were  con- 
sulting about  the  place  of  execution,  where  it 
would  be  most  conspicuous  and  strike  terror 
into  the  greatest  number,  John  Lindsay,  a  plain 
layman,  advised  that  if  they  burned  any  more 
people  they  should  burn  them  in  a  cellar ; 
''  For,"  said  he,  ''  the  smoke  of  Master  Patrick 
Hamilton  had  infected  all  on  whom  it  blew." 

Among  those  arrested  about  that  time  for 
heresy  we  find  a  brother  and  a  sister  of  Ham- 
ilton. But  both  escaped,  through  favor  of  the 
king  toward  them  as  kindred. 


CARDINAL   BEATON.  317 

The  intensity  of  persecution  relaxed  for  a 
few  years  after  the  death  of  Henry  Forest, 
caused  partly  by  the  intestine  wars  between 
several  great  families,  and  finally  between  the 
king  and  Douglas,  earl  of  Angus,  in  which  the 
earl  was,  after  a  long  defence,  worsted  and 
driven  into  exile. 

In  Scotland  the  number  of  victims  was  far 
short  of  what  it  was  in  some  countries  on  the 
Continent,  or  in  England,  in  the  reign  of  Mary ; 
but  in  the  twelve  years  succeeding  1528  it  was 
great  enough  to  appall  and  exasperate  a  na- 
tion to  which  such  executions  had  hitherto  been 
little  known.  They  resulted  in  heaping  pop- 
ular detestation  upon  those  who  conducted 
them,  and  on  the  Church  which  they  were  de- 
signed to  defend.  But  the  principal  object  of 
censure  and  abhorrence  was  the  primate,  by 
whose  signature  the  whole  array  of  those  cruel- 
ties was  sanctioned.  And  yet  James  Beaton 
was  a  man  who  in  circumstances  less  unfavor- 
able might  have  earned  the  praise  of  wisdom 
and  humanity.  Descended  of  an  ancient  Nor- 
man family  deriving  its  name  from  the  town 
of  Bethune  in  Artois,  and  whose  residence 
in  Scotland  dated  back  at  least  as  far  as  the 
thirteenth  century,  he  enjoyed  every  facility  of 
education  which  the  country  could  afford.  In 
youth  he  evinced  great  natural  talents,  and  his 
career   proved   to  be  one   of   remarkable  sue- 


3l8  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

cess.  Having  entered  the  University  of  St. 
Andrews  in  1487,  he  received  his  master's  de- 
gree in  1492.  In  1497  he  was  presented  to 
the  chantry  of  Caithness  ;  in  1 503  he  was  made 
provost  of  the  collegiate  church  of  Bothwell 
and  prior  of  Whithorn  ;  in  1 504  he  was  made 
abbot  of  Dunfermline ;  in  1 505  he  was  lord 
treasurer  of  Scotland;  in  1508  he  was  made 
bishop  of  Galloway ;  within  a  year,  promoted 
to  the  metropolitanate  of  Glasgow,  he  resigned 
the  office  of  treasurer;  in  151 3  he  was  chan- 
cellor of  the  kingdom,  and  secured  to  himself 
the  rich  abbacies  of  Arbroath  and  Kilwlnnine ; 
and  in  1522,  on  the  death  of  Andrew  Forman, 
he  was  elevated  to  the  primacy  In  St.  Andrews, 
which  he  retained  until  his  death.  On  succeed- 
ing to  the  primacy  he  resigned  the  commenda- 
tory of  Arbroath  In  favor  of  his  nephew,  Da- 
vid Beaton,  reserving  to  himself  half  of  its 
revenue.  Dunfermline  and  Kilwinning  he  re- 
tained. 

The  execution  of  Patrick  Hamilton  w^as  an 
act  in  which  he  was  certainly  the  principal 
mover,  and  for  which  he  was  highly  commend- 
ed by  Catholic  theologians.  A  letter  from  the 
theological  faculty  of  Louvain  exalted  it  with 
the  highest  praise.  If  human  approbation 
could  have  satisfied  his  conscience,  he  had  all 
that  he  valued  most  amone  his  fellow-men. 
But  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been  satisfied. 


CARDINAL    BEATON.  3I9 

For,  after  the  mortifying  interview  with  Alex- 
ander Seton  and  the  death  of  Henry  Forest, 
it  appears  that  he  never  was  forward  in  seek- 
ing out  or  instituting  proceedings  against  here- 
tics, thoueh  he  sanctioned  the  conduct  of  others 
more  zealous  in  proceeding  against  them.  In 
the  place  he  occupied  perhaps  he  could  not  con- 
sistently do  less,  however  he  may  have  felt 
about  his  own  former  atrocities.  The  more 
impetuous  Catholics  thought  he  had  become 
lax  and  not  very  solicitous  about  the  Church, 
how  its  affairs  might  prosper. 

Archbishop  Beaton  has  been  credited  on  both 
sides  with  being  "a  very  prudent  man."  Oth- 
ers, using  less  complimentary  language,  repre- 
sented him  as  crafty — "  a  fox,"  who  among 
furious  political  parties,  Scottish  and  English, 
so  sagaciously  "  fled  from  hole  to  hole  that  he 
could  not  be  apprehended."  The  remark  im- 
plies that  he  had  also  his  hardships  and  many 
enemies.  And  the  hands  of  some  of  those 
enemies  he  did  not  always  succeed  in  eluding. 
The  Reformers  disliked  him,  but  they  were  not 
yet  organized  sufficiently  to  constitute  a  dan- 
gerous party. 

In  the  responsible  place  which  he  held  at 
a  time  when  dissatisfaction  with  the  Catholic 
Church  w^as  beginning  to  break  out  in  public 
protest,  James  Beaton,  if  not  cruel  and  intol- 
erant by  nature — of  which  his  contemporaries. 


320  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

even  leading  Reformers,  do  not  accuse  him — 
was  unfortunate  in  the  tasks  demanded  of  him, 
and  in  the  men  with  whom  he  was  associated 
and  who  acted  in  his  name.  By  his  death,  in 
1539,  the  ecclesiastical  sovereignty  came  into 
the  hands  of  one  about  whose  character  there 
is  no  question,  and  who  never  gave  any  sign 
that  charity  could  construe  into  a  scruple  of 
conscience. 

By  the  calamity  at  Flodden  a  sudden  revolu- 
tion was  wrought  in  the  government  of  Scot- 
land. In  one  day  the  country  lost  her  king, 
with  the  leaders  of  her  councils,  and  a  new  gen- 
eration of  nobility  came  into  power.  The  heir 
of  the  throne  was  a  child  of  one  year  old,  and 
in  Parliament  the  places  of  the  old  members 
were  filled  with  comparative  youth.  Queen 
Margaret  was  looked  to  as  the  proper  regent 
in  the  minority  of  her  son.  But  in  less  than  a 
year  she  married,  and  thereby  changed  her  re- 
lations to  the  kingdom.  Her  new  husband  was 
the  young  nobleman  who,  by  the  death  of  his  fa- 
ther at  Flodden,  succeeded  his  grandfather  as  the 
earl  of  Angus.  Jealousies  at  once  arose.  That 
a  Douglas  should  by  marriage  seize  on  the  pow- 
ers of  regency  could  not  be  quietly  tolerated  by 
the  rivals  of  that  family.  A  motion  was  made 
in  Parliament  to  transfer  the  regency  to  Alex- 
ander Stewart,  the  duke  of  Albany,  uncle  of 
the  young  king's  father.     Albany,  then  living  in 


CARDINAL    BEATON.  321 

France  in  the  enjoyment  of  great  wealth  and 
honor  as  high  admiral  of  the  kingdom,  came  to 
Scotland  with  much  reluctance,  discharged  the 
duties  of  regent  a  little  over  a  year,  and  re- 
turned to  his  adopted  country.  He  left  a 
French  gentleman,  De  la  Bastie,  in  high  place 
to  see  to  his  interests  during  his  absence.  But 
Parliament  appointed  as  colleagues  in  the  re- 
gency the  two  archbishops,  with  the  earls  of 
Angus,  Huntly,  Arran  and  Argyll. 

Albany,  by  his  French  affectations,  his  alien 
manners  and  airs  of  superiority,  had  disgusted 
the  Scottish  people,  both  noble  and  common. 
The  conduct  of  the  men  whom  he  had  brought 
with  him,  w^ith  whom  he  had  garrisoned  three 
of  the  strongest  places  in  the  kingdom,  and  by 
some  of  whom  he  preferred  to  be  attended,  in- 
tensified that  feeling.  During  his  absence  some 
dispute,  leading  to  fighting  and  bloodshed,  took 
place  toward  the  English  border.  De  la  Bas- 
tie went  with  a  small  number  of  followers  to 
reduce  it.  The  pardes  turned  against  him  as  a 
foreign  intruder.  He  took  to  flight,  but  in  a 
marsh  was  overtaken  and  killed.  No  person 
was  legally  tried  for  the  violence. 

The  duke  did  not  return  to  Scotland  until  af- 
ter the  lapse  of  five  years.  His  unpopularity 
was  greater  than  before,  and  was  beginning  to 
extend  to  the  country  of  his  preference.  A 
check  was  put  upon  that  tendency  by  a  false 

21 


322  rilK    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Step  of  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  who  issued  a 
threatening  demand  to  the  Scots  to  send  Al- 
bany back  to  France  or  he  would  make  war 
upon  them.  For  the  time  they  felt  constrained 
to  rally  round  the  unpopular  regent  to  maintain 
their  own  dignity.  Raising  a  large  and  well- 
equipped  army,  they  marched  to  the  border  to 
encounter  the  expected  invasion.  Henry,  how- 
ever, was  not  prepared  for  war.  The  "  insult- 
ing demand "  was  withdrawn,  and  the  cloud 
blew  over. 

The  duke  of  Albany  soon  after  went  back  to 
France  of  his  own  wish.  But  hostilities  again 
broke  out  on  the  English  border.  Albany  re- 
turned with  a  French  fleet  and  a  few  thousand 
troops.  It  was  well  for  France  to  keep  the 
arms  of  England  employed  in  that  quarter. 
He  landed  in  September,  1523.  The  cam- 
paign was  conducted  feebly,  and  in  May  of 
the  next  year  he  left  his  native  land,  never  to 
return.     His  foreign  followers  went  with  him. 

One  effect  of  this  unwilling  and  interrupted 
administration  was  to  strengthen,  both  directly 
and  indirectly,  a  party  which  was  gradually  form- 
ing itself  in  favor  of  friendly  relations  with  Eng- 
land. But  for  the  headlong  and  foolish  meas- 
ures of  Henry  VIII.,  which  sometimes  defeated 
what  he  most  ardently  desired,  that  party  might 
have  prospered  better  than  it  did.  But  between 
his  impetuous  blundering  and  the  artful  policy 


CARDINAL    BEATON.  323 

of  France,  sustained  by  the  clergy,  to  keep 
hold  of  the  Scottish  alliance,  as  a  flank  move- 
ment upon  England,  two  conflicting  parties 
agitated  the  politics  of  the  northern  kingdom. 
Family  quarrels  Intensified  and  complicated  the 
disorder.  Some  of  the  nobility  betook  them- 
selves to  England  and  some  to  France.  Queen 
Margaret  had  separated  from  her  husband,  who 
had  also  gone  abroad.  The  government  for  a 
few  months  was  In  the  hands  of  churchmen,  and 
a  duel  of  artifice  took  place  between  Beaton  on 
the  side  of  the  French  Interest,  and  Wolsey  to 
secure  and  promote  that  of  England  In  Scottish 
politics.  After  many  devices  to  get  the  "fox 
of  St.  Andrews"  out  of  his  hole,  he  was  finally 
clutched  and  put  away  in  prison  to  keep  him 
harmless — too  late,  however,  to  suit  the  designs 
of  his  adversary.  For  just  then  another  plot 
was  on  foot. 

Certain  Scottish  noblemen,  who  had  no  taste 
for  either  French  or  English  dictation,  con- 
ceived that,  although  their  king  was  still  but 
a  boy,  it  would  be  better  to  set  him  on  the 
throne,  and  sustain  him  by  the  best  advisers 
they  could  secure,  than  to  live  without  any 
certain  head  to  the  government,  even  In  name, 
exposed  to  the  plots  of  partisans  of  foreign  in- 
terests. To  that  measure  the  queen-mother's 
approval  was  easily  obtained,  as  well  as  that 
of  her  royal   brother.     Accordingly,  James  V. 


324  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

commenced  his  actual  reign  in  the  month  of 
August,  1524,  at  the  age  of  twelve  years. 
Still,  of  course,  he  was  but  a  minor  under 
guardianship,  and  the  rivalry  of  French  and 
English  machinations,  spies  and  agitators  con- 
tinued at  the  Scottish  court. 

In  1526  the  king  reached  the  age  of  four- 
teen, when  by  law  he  was  free  to  choose  his 
own  guardians.  He  chose  his  stepfather,  the 
earl  of  Angus,  who  had  now  returned  to  Scot- 
land, and  with  him  the  Lords  Argyll  and  Errol. 
It  was  understood  that  they  were  each  to  have 
charge  of  their  royal  ward  for  three  months. 
Angus  had  his  term  first,  but  when  it  expired 
he  refused  to  resign.  Attempts  were  made  to 
compel  him,  and  battles  were  fought.  But 
Douglas  proved  the  stronger.  At  the  end  of 
about  two  years  the  young  king  planned  his 
own  escape,  and  with  only  two  attendants  fled 
from  his  watchful  guardian.  The  legitimate 
powers  of  the  nation  sustained  him.  Douglas 
took  refuo-e  in  his  stroncr  castle  of  Tantallon. 
James,  now  at  the  head  of  an  army,  besieged 
it,  and  prosecuted  operations  until  he  reduced 
his  rebellious  stepfather,  who  again  withdrew 
to  England. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  these  troubles  that 
the  burning  of  Patrick  Hamilton  took  place. 
The  young  king  was  too  busy  with  his  own 
affairs  to  have  any  knowledge  of  the  case  of 


CARDINAL   BEATON.  325 

heresy.  He  was  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine 
of  a  northern  saint  when  it  occurred,  and  the 
execution  was  hastened  that  he  might  not 
know  about  it  until  too  late  for  prevention. 

When  Douglas  was  defeated,  the  king  found 
that  he  had  only  begun  the  conflict  with  refrac- 
tory chieftains.  On  the  border  many  held 
themselves  to  be  retainers  of  Douglas,  and 
some  had  assumed  to  themselves  almost  the 
independence  of  sovereigns.  In  the  High- 
lands, although  there  was  no  longer  a  Norse 
viceroy  or  a  Lord  of  the  Isles  strong  enough 
to  resist  the  monarchy,  the  connection  of  the 
several  chieftains  with  the  general  government 
had  become  greatly  relaxed,  and  the  peace  of 
the  whole  country  was  at  one  time  threatened 
from  that  quarter.  The  rights  of  the  Crown 
had  to  be  defended  against  the  aggressions  of 
aristocratic  houses,  which,  if  combined,  would 
have  outrivaled  it  in  national  power. 

The  jealousy  of  James  V.  toward  the  nobil- 
ity of  his  kingdom  was  thus  kept  in  continual 
activity.  To  reduce  them  to  order,  while  he 
guarded  the  frontiers  against  the  often-recur- 
ring threats  of  the  king  of  England,  occupied 
the  most  of  his  reiorn. 

Meanwhile,  the  Protestant  persuasion  was 
making  its  way  among  people  of  all  ranks,  es- 
pecially the  laity.  The  revolution  in  England, 
whereby  papalism  was  expelled,  added  gready 


326  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

to  the  motives  going  to  form  a  Scottish  party 
in  favor  of  friendly  relations  with  that  country. 
In  a  few  years  that  became  the  policy  of  the 
Protestant  party  of  Scotland,  while  the  Cath- 
olic party,  with  the  bishops  at  their  head,  be- 
came more  intensely  partisans  of  France. 

James  had  little  favor  for  the  bishops,  and 
was  not  ignorant  of  the  ecclesiastical  abuses 
with  which  every  tongue  was  busy.  But  the 
bishops  needed  his  support  and  sought  his 
favor,  and  in  his  controversy  with  the  nobles 
he  could  not  afford  to  alienate  the  clergy  also. 
More  than  once  he  rescued  from  their  hands 
and  saved  life  endangered  by  the  charge  of 
heresy,  but  there  was  a  limit  beyond  which  he 
could  not  go  in  that  direction.  He  was  not 
quite  sure  of  the  loyalty  of  the  reforming  lead- 
ers, some  of  whom  his  violence  had  driven  to 
seek  the  protection  of  England.  Necessity 
called  for  good  terms  with  the  clergy,  and  the 
clergy  clung  to  the  alliance  with  France.  For 
real  home-support  it  was  the  commons  upon 
whom  he  could  most  safely  rely,  but  things 
were  not  prepared  for  him  to  break  through 
the  intervening  ranks  and  put  himself  at  their 
head  as  a  popular  leader.  They,  moreover, 
were  also  divided,  and  with  many  of  them  nei- 
ther France  nor  England  was  much  in  favor. 

The  credit  of  superior  patriotism  has  been 
claimed  for  the  bishops.     It  is  a  poor  ground 


CARDINAL    BEATON.  327 

for  such  a  claim  that  they  rejected  friendly  re- 
lations with  a  neighboring  state,  in  order  to 
involve  their  country  in  profitless  wars  for  the 
benefit  of  a  far-distant  ally,  from  w^hom  some 
of  them  actually  accepted  honors  and  wealthy 
benefices,  or  that  they  resisted  alliance  with  a 
neighbor  to  retain  allegiance  to  the  pope. 

James  \ .  was  not  a  pious  man.  The  exam- 
ples with  which  he  was  best  acquainted  among 
ministers  of  religion  were  not  of  a  nature  to 
recommend  piety.  The  faithful  Alexander  Se- 
ton,  his  confessor  for  a  time,  was  soon  under- 
mined in  influence  and  driven  into  exile,  and 
in  the  family  of  his  birth  the  lives  of  his  father, 
his  mother  and  uncle  had  little  to  recommend 
virlue  except  the  penalties  that  follow  vice. 
The  access  which  his  early  companion,  Lind- 
say, had  to  his  convictions  was  chiefly  the 
avenue  of  amusement.  Any  check  put  by  him 
upon  persecution  was  the  dictate  of  common 
humanity  or  personal  friendship.  But  the  se- 
verities of  persecution  never  proceeded  from 
him. 

In  his  marriages  James  was  also  unfortunate. 
The  first,  in  1536,  was  a  marriage  of  love,  to 
Magdalen,  daughter  of  Francis  I.  of  France,  of 
whom,  as  having  lived  much  under  the  influence 
of  her  aunt,  the  queen  of  Navarre,  favor  was 
expected  for  the  reforming  party.  An  early 
death   disappointed  their  hopes.       His  second 


328  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

marriage,  In  1538,  was  with  Mary  of  Guise, 
daughter  of  the  duke  of  Lorraine,  leader  of 
the  Romanist  party  in  France. 

At  that  time  and  onward,  his  prime  advisers 
were  Archbishop  Beaton  and  his  accompHshed 
but  immoral  nephew.  In  spite  of  himself,  the 
king  was  held  in  bonds  of  their  policy,  which  so 
many  of  the  laity  detested,  and  was  kept  there- 
by in  ever-fluctuating  animosity  with  England, 
with  whom  an  increasing  party  of  the  laity 
wished  to  have  peace,  and  his  own  family  in- 
terests rendered  it  desirable  to  be  on  good 
terms. 

By  following  the  advice  of  his  priestly  coun- 
selors, he  gratuitously  made  and  broke  a  prom- 
ise to  meet  his  uncle,  Henry  VIII.,  in  consulta- 
tion at  York,  thereby  incurring  that  monarch's 
just  indignation.  War  measures  followed,  with- 
out real  war.  The  Scottish  army  having  reached 
the  border,  the  principal  nobility  refused  to  in- 
vade England.  James  sent  forward  a  large 
detachment,  over  which  he  appointed  a  favorite 
from  among  the  commons.  In  surprise  and 
indignation  the  whole  detachment  rose  in  a 
mob.  In  that  condition  they  were  attacked 
by  a  small  English  force  under  Lord  Dacre, 
and  scattered  without  a  battle.  James,  in 
sickness  of  mortification,  withdrew  to  his  pal- 
ace of  Falkland,  where  he  languished,  without 
any  apparent  disease,  until  he  died,  on  the  14th 


CARDINAL   BEATON.  329 

of  December,  1542.  Mary,  his  only  surviving 
legitimate  child,  was  but  a  week  old.  The  coun- 
try was  again  subjected  to  a  long  minority,  and 
a  series  of  conflictinof  regencies. 

Beyond  all  reasonable  dispute,  at  the  death 
of  James  V.  there  was  in  the  Scottish  Church 
a  party  of  great  weight  in  favor  of  reform. 
They  had  yet  no  organization  separate  from 
the  Church,  and  still  were  members  of  the  es- 
tablishment connected  with  Rome,  but  they  re- 
proved its  errors  and  urged  that  it  ought  to  be 
made  conformable  to  the  scriptural  standard. 
It  was  dangerous  to  be  a  leader  in  such  con- 
nection if  weak.  That  not  a  few,  for  political 
reasons,  stood  forward  as  such,  evinces  their 
belief  that  the  popular  force  to  back  them  was 
strong.  A  weak  dependant  on  the  opinions  of 
others,  like  the  earl  of  Arran,  would  not  have 
urged  his  claims  to  the  regency  under  the  colors 
of  a  party  which  he  did  not  believe  able  to  sus- 
tain him.  The  Parliament  of  1542  set  aside  the 
other  candidates,  and  recognized  him  as  regent 
and  governor  of  Scotland.  The  Reformers  in 
his  support  assumed  position  openly  before  the 
country  as  a  party.  Some  of  them,  recognizing 
him  as  their  head,  exhorted  him  to  think  for 
what  end  God  had  thus  exalted  him,  from  what 
dangers  he  had  been  delivered,  and  the  expec- 
tations which  were  entertained  of  him.  He  also 
appointed  two  of  their  persuasion  to  be  court- 


330  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

preachers,  men  of  whom  Knox  speaks  In  terms 
of  high  praise. 

Reading  the  Bible  had  so  far  come  Into  prac- 
tice that  men  began  to  claim  It  as  a  right,  not- 
withstanding the  law  that  no  part  of  it  should 
be  read  in  English,  nor  any  treatise  or  exposi- 
tion of  any  part  of  it,  on  the  pain  of  heresy. 
Inquiry  was  now  freely  made  If  It  ought  not  to 
be  lawful  for  men  who  did  not  understand  Lat- 
in to  use  the  word  of  salvation  In  the  tongue 
which  they  did  understand.  If  it  was  right  for 
men  who  knew  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew  to 
read  it  in  those  languages,  why  should  it  be 
wrong  for  men  who  did  not  know  them  to  read 
it  in  English  ?  The  Saviour  had  ordered  his 
gospel  to  be  preached  to  all  nations.  He  must 
have  intended  it  to  be  preached  to  them  in  the 
languages  which  they  understood.  And  if  it 
was  lawful  to  preach  It  in  all  languages,  why 
should  it  not  be  lawful  to  read  it  in  all  lan- 
guages ?  How  otherwise  could  people  try 
the  spirits,  according  to  the  exhortation  of 
the  apostle  ? 

The  plea  could  not  be  set  aside  as  unreason- 
able. And  among  those  who  urged  it  were 
statesmen  like  the  elder  Lord  Ruthven  and 
Henry  Balnavis,  and  on  the  part  of  the  clergy 
Hay,  dean  of  Restalrig,  and  others.  The  com- 
missioners of  burghs  and  some  of  the  nobility 
also  united  in  requesting  Parliament  to  enact 


CARDINAL   BEATON.  33 1 

that  all  should  be  permitted  to  use  the  trans- 
lations which  they  then  had  of  both  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  together  with  treatises 
of  sound  doctrine,  until  such  times  as  the  prel- 
ates and  churchmen  should  furnish  transla- 
tions more  correct.  Opposition  was  made  by 
the  clerical  members.  But,  overcome  by  the 
arguments,  or  the  great  majority  of  votes  on 
the  other  side,  they  consented.  Reading  the 
Scriptures  was  by  act  of  Parliament  made  free  to 
all,  and  all  acts  to  the  contrary  abolished  (1542). 

Immediately  the  Bible  became  a  fashionable 
book,  to  be  seen  on  almost  every  gentleman's 
table,  and  the  New  Testament  was  carried 
about  in  men's  hands.  Many  also  declared 
their  gratification  with  being  able  to  read  open- 
ly what  formerly  they  could  enjoy  only  in  con- 
cealment. If  some  made  that  profession  who 
had  less  pleasure  in  it  than  they  pretended,  it 
only  goes  the  further  to  prove  the  extent  and 
force  of  the  fashion  at  the  time.  But  freedom 
of  the  Bible  was  a  reforming  measure  distinct- 
ively. 

Books  also  in  refutation  of  the  papacy  and 
exposure  of  its  practices,  written  in  Scotland 
as  well  as  brought  from  England,  were  read 
with  greater  freedom  and  by  increasing  num- 
bers. 

Four  years  later,  so  strong  was  that  party 
and  so  well  understood  its  strengfth,  that  when 


332  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Wishart  was  burned  at  St.  Andrews  the  exe- 
cution was  ordered  immediately  under  the  guns 
of  the  castle,  which  were  trained  to  sweep  the 
whole  ground ;  nor  did  the  primate  risk  him- 
self outside  of  his  castle-walls. 

By  the  same  party,  in  the  first  years  of  the 
regency,  the  policy  of  cultivating  friendly  re- 
lations with  England  was  favored.  A  pros- 
pective marriage  of  the  infant  queen  with 
Edward,  son  of  Henry  VIII.,  was  looked  to  as 
in  course  of  time  conducive  to  such  friendly 
relations  and  to  the  interests  of  the  Protestant 
religion  in  both  countries.  A  treaty  of  that 
purport  was  actually  made,  but  was  defeated 
by  the  fickleness  of  the  regent,  who  suddenly 
changed  his  mind  and  went  over  to  the  papal 
party,  which  contemplated  a  similar  relation 
with  the  dauphin  of  France. 

A  third  party,  which  sought  its  affinities  with 
the  Reformers,  but  really  had  little  in  common 
with  them  except  preference  for  England  rather 
than  France,  consisted  of  a  few  noblemen  and 
gentlemen  who  had  pledged  themselves  to  the 
plans  of  Henry  VIII.  They  were  prisoners 
who  had  been  taken  at  Flodden  and  at  Sol- 
way  Moss,  and  refugees  from  the  severities  of 
James  V. ;  among  whom  were  the  earl  of  An- 
gus and  his  brother,  Sir  George  Douglas. 
After  the  death  of  James  several  of  them  re- 
turned  to  Scotland   under  a  promise,  exacted 


CARDINAL    BEATON.  333 

of  them  by  Henry,  to  use  their  Influence  In  his 
favor.  Those  ''Assured  Scots,"  as  they  were 
called  In  England,  did  great  detriment  to  the 
Reformation,  with  which  they  had  nominally 
some  connection,  reflecting  upon  It  the  charge 
of  their  own  disloyalty. 

Moreover,  Henry  VIII.,  In  his  foolishly  impe- 
rious way  of  attempting  to  attach  Scotland  to 
his  government  by  force  of  arms,  rendered  It 
impossible  for  Scotsmen  to  do  anything  for  the 
English  alliance,  by  any  means  whatever.  Thus 
the  friendship  so  fondly  hoped  for  by  the  Re- 
formers became  impracticable  on  every  side ; 
for,  in  the  estimation  of  the  common  people, 
far  above  the  interests  of  any  party  were  those 
of  Scotland.  The  friendship  of  France  had 
been  well  repaid  by  the  valor  and  the  blood 
of  Scotsmen  on  many  a  battle-field ;  but  when 
Frenchmen  assumed  authority  in  or  over  Scot- 
land they  were  repelled  without  scruple.  And 
although,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  the  relig- 
ion of  their  belief,  a  party  was  willing  to  have 
formed  a  fairly-balanced  alliance  with  their  an- 
cient enemy,  yet  when  it  appeared  that  he  was 
bent  upon  taking  advantage  of  every  move- 
ment of  the  kind  to  enforce  his  dominion  over 
them,  they  could  forego  or  suspend  the  purpose 
of  their  party  to  maintain  the  independence  of 
the  nation.  The  political  strength  of  the  re- 
forming   movement    was    disguised    for    many 


334  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

years  by  the  necessity  of  concentrating  all 
efforts  to  repel  the  frequently  recurring  vio- 
lence from  the  side  of  Enorland.     But  thouorh 

o  o 

politically  in  abeyance,  only  a  very  shallow  in- 
spection of  the  history  could  rest  in  the  con- 
clusion that  the  party  had  ceased  to  be  of  any 
national  importance. 

After  the  regent — a  good-natured,  easy,  but 
weak  and  fickle  man — had  deserted  to  the 
Catholic  party,  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrews, 
who  stood  at  the  head  of  it,  retained  posses- 
sion of  the  real  authority  in  both  Church  and 
State  to  the  end  of  his  days. 

David  Beaton,  nephew  to  his  predecessor  in 
the  see  of  St.  Andrews,  was  born  at  Balfour, 
in  Fifeshire,  in  the  year  1494.  Until  his  six- 
teenth year  he  studied  at  St.  Andrews,  and  then 
removed  to  the  University  of  Glasgow,  where 
his  uncle  was  archbishop.  He  was  afterward 
sent  to  Paris,  where  he  excelled  in  the  depart- 
ments of  civil  and  canon  law.  In  15 19,  for  his 
great  talent  and  attractive  manners,  he  was 
made  by  James  V.  resident  for  Scotland  at  the 
French  court,  where  he  managed  the  affairs 
committed  to  his  charge  with  great  dexterity. 
Even  before  he  became  a  priest  ecclesiastical 
benefices  were  conferred  upon  him.  His  un- 
cle granted  him  the  rectories  of  Campsie  and 
Cambu slang,  and  afterward  the  wealthy  com- 
mendatory   of    Arbroath,    and    prevailed    with 


CARDINAL    BKATON.  335 

the  pope  to  dispense  with  his  assuming  the 
monastic  garb  for  the  space  of  two  years. 
Meanwdiile,  he  enjoyed  the  society  and  gayety 
of  Paris.  Returning  to  Scotland  in  1525,  he 
took  his  seat  in  ParHament  as  abbot  of  Ar- 
broath. In  1528  he  was  appointed  lord  privy 
seal.  By  that  office  having  many  opportuni- 
ties of  being  in  the  company  of  the  young 
king,  he  soon  became  a  special  favorite,  and 
in  1533  was  sent  on  an  embassy  to  France, 
from  which  he  did  not  return  until  after  the 
lapse  of  about  four  years.  During  that  inter- 
val he  ingratiated  himself  with  Francis  I.  and 
received  naturalization  as  a  French  subject. 

Upon  the  marriage  of  James  V.  w^ith  the 
princess  Magdalen,  Beaton  returned  to  Scot- 
land wath  the  royal  company  in  May,  1537. 
After  the  death  of  Magdalen  he  was  sent  to 
France  to  negotiate  a  marriage  for  the  king 
with  Mary  of  Guise.  On  that  occasion  Francis 
conferred  upon  him  the  bishopric  of  Mirepoix 
in  the  south  of  France,  with  a  revenue  of  ten 
thousand  livres  a  year,  and  procured  for  him 
from  Pope  Paul  III.  the  dignity  of  cardinal, 
which  was  granted  in    1538. 

Cardinal  Beaton  returned  to  Scotland  as  es- 
cort to  Mary,  the  betrothed  of  James  V.,  whose 
marriage  he  solemnized  at  St.  Andrews  in  July, 
1538.  In  August  following  he  was  appointed 
assistant  to  his  uncle,  whom  he  succeeded  in  the 


33^  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

see  of  St.  Andrews  In  February  of  next  year. 
A  few  days  after  his  elevation  he  used  his  influ- 
ence with  the  king  to  procure  a  gift  of  land  for 
David  Beaton,  one  of  his  family  of  illegitimate 
children.  Perceiving  the  rapid  spread  of  Prot- 
estant doctrine,  especially  among  the  nobility 
and  higher  classes,  he  applied  to  the  pope  and 
received  the  powers  of  legate  a  latere  for  all 
^Scotland. 

So  much  was  he  Impressed  with  the  growth 
of  the  reforming  Interest  that  he  resolved  to 
take  the  most  stringent  measures  to  check  it. 
Very  soon  after  his  promotion  to  the  primacy 
he  called  a  meeting  of  bishops,  with  the  arch- 
bishop of  Glasgow  and  some  of  the  nobility, 
and,  presiding  over  them  in  the  cathedral, 
represented  to  them  the  danger  wherewith 
the  Church  was  threatened  by  the  increase 
of  heretics,  who  had  the  boldness  to  profess 
their  opinions  even  in  the  king's  court.  He 
denounced  as  one  of  the  most  active  Sir  John 
Borthwick,  provost  of  Linlithgow,  and  caused 
him  to  be  cited  before  them.  As  Sir  John  did 
not  appear,  sentence  was  passed  against  him. 
His  property  was  confiscated,  and  as  he  in  per- 
son could  not  be  found — he  had  taken  refuge 
in  England — he  was  burned  in  effigy.  Before 
the  first  month  of  the  cardinal's  primacy  had 
closed  a  great  number  of  Protestants  were  ar- 
rested.      Five  were  burned  to  death,  nine  re- 


CARDINAL    BEATON.  337 

canted  and  some  escaped  out  of  prison.  Among 
the  latter  was  the  celebrated  George  Buchanan. 
From  that  time  onward  the  cardinal  secured  the 
entire  control  of  public  affairs,  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical. James  V.  never  succeeded  in  emanci- 
pating himself  from  the  overmastering  influence 
of  the  stronger  mind.  When  he  died  the  at- 
tempt was  made  by  the  cardinal,  on  the  pre- 
tence of  a  royal  will,  to  prolong  that  domina- 
tion by  proclaiming  himself  regent,  with  the 
earls  of  Arran,  Huntly,  Murray  and  Argyll  as 
assistants.  But  Parliament  treated  the  will  as 
a  forgery,  set  the  cardinal  aside,  and  proclaim- 
ed Arran  sole  regent. 

For  a  time  Beaton  was  imprisoned  in  Black- 
ness, and  afterward  in  his  own  castle  of  St.  An- 
drews. But  when  the  regent  became  alarmed 
about  the  English  treaty  he  set  him  free, 
forming  a  reconciliation  with  him,  and  imme- 
diately came  under  his  control  more  com- 
pletely than  had  the  king.  The  regent  now 
acted  with  and  for  the  cardinal  to  suppress  the 
Reformation.  He  dismissed  his  two  Reformed 
chaplains ;  the  act  of  Parliament  permitting  the 
Scriptures  to  be  read  in  the  vulgar  tongue  w^as 
repealed,  and  the  offence  made  punishable  with 
death ;  heretical  opinions  were  to  be  rooted 
out,  and  the  prelates  were  enjoined  to  make 
inquiry  within  their  dioceses  respecting  all 
who     dissented     from     Catholic    practice    and 

22 


33^  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND, 

doctrine,    and    to    proceed    against    them    by 
law. 

In  these  circumstances  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  greater  number  of  persons  entertain- 
ing Protestant  convictions  should  have  made  as 
little  demonstration  of  themselves  as  possible. 
Even  Knox,  now  approaching  the  prime  of  his 
days,  was  still  silent,  biding  his  time  in  obscurity. 


BOOK   FOURTH, 


THE   REFORMATION  CONFLICT. 


CHAPTER    I. 

GEORGE    IVISHART  AND    CARDINAL   BEATON. 

IT  has  been  already  stated  that  the  spread  of 
Reformed  doctrine  in  Scotland  was  used  by 
a  class  of  political  agitators  to  help  forward 
their  own  designs.  Making  a  profession  of 
zeal  for  pure  religion,  they  secured  the  sup- 
port of  a  reliable  influence  among  the  people, 
and  repaid  it  with  the  reproach  due  to  their 
own  evil-doings. 

During  the  repeated  invasions  from  England 
in  1544  and  1545,  by  which  the  south  of  Scot- 
land was  devastated  and  some  of  her  finest 
ecclesiastical  structures,  Melrose,  Dryburgh, 
Kelso,  Jedburgh  and  others,  laid  in  ruins, 
there  were  men  who,  under  the  plea  of  be- 
ing Reformers,  aided  the  enemy  of  their  coun- 
try, and  willingly  offered  themselves  for  the 
execution  of  his  least  defensible  desio^ns. 
The  indignation  of  Henry  VIII.  was  leveled 
chiefly  against  Cardinal  Beaton,  by  whom  the 
treaties  of  alliance  and  intermarriage  of  the 
royal  families  had  been  defeated ;  and  Bea- 
ton, after  that  victory  of  his  policy,  strength- 

341 


342  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

ened  himself  as  the  real  governor  of  Scotland. 
The  regent,  if  he  did  not  in  all  cases  act  in 
compliance  with  him,  proved  incompetent  to  re- 
sist. He  was  strengthened  by  the  passionate 
blundering  of  Henry  VIII.  The  raids  made 
along  the  border  alienated  that  portion  of  the 
Scottish  people  who  otherwise  would  have  pro- 
moted still  further  effort  for  the  English  alli- 
ance, and  turned  their  favor  to  Beaton  as  a 
patriotic  leader. 

Far  from  being  held  in  popular  respect,  Bea- 
ton's character  was  notorious,  his  immorality 
undisguised  and  his  cruelty  insolent,  but  his  op- 
position to  the  usurping  claims  of  Henry  VIII. 
secured  him  the  support  of  the  multitude,  who 
could  not  know  the  motive  of  his  policy.  A 
Frenchman  by  naturalization,  a  personal  friend 
of  Francis  I.,  and  holder  of  a  wealthy  benefice 
in  France,  he  acted  in  the  interests  of  his  adop- 
tive country  by  withholding  the  country  of  his 
birth  from  enjoying  a  peace  which  would  have 
left  England  free  to  match  herself  fairly  with 
France.  Beaton's  patriotism  was  to  let  Scot- 
land bleed,  that  France  might  be  assisted  in  her 
war  with  a  Protestant  neighbor — to  maintain  alli- 
ance with  a  more  distant  Romish  power  to  sup- 
press the  reforming  party  in  his  native  land. 
His  interests  were  with  those  who  honored  and 
enriched  him — France  and  the  papacy.  One  of 
the  greatest  and  most  accomplished  men  whom 


GEORGE    WISH  ART  AND    CARDINAL    BEATON.    343 

Scotland  has  ever  produced,  he  had  been  com- 
pletely corrupted,  both  morally  and  politically, 
by  his  long  and  repeated  residences  among  the 
court  society  of  Paris.  But  Scotland  was  in 
danger,  and  her  defence  was  the  absorbing  care 
of  all  loyal  Scotsmen,  of  whatever  religion,  or  of 
none.  It  was  no  time  to  criticise  the  character 
of  one  who  appeared  to  be  her  staunchest  friend 
at  the  head  of  government.  For  the  time,  Bea- 
ton was  popular  in  Scotland. 

The  hatred  of  him  entertained  by  Henry  VIII. 
was  fully  intelligent  of  his  purposes.  Unfortu- 
nately for  both  countries,  it  was  expressed  in 
actions  as  stupid  as  they  were  wicked. 

One  of  Henry's  projects  was  to  get  the  car- 
dinal into  his  hands  or  to  have  him  put  to  death. 
On  the  side  of  Scotland,  a  few  desperate  men, 
who  chose  to  array  themselves  with  the  Reform- 
ers, were  willing,  for  a  satisfactory  consideration, 
to  execute  that  intention.  The  leader  among 
them  seems  to  have  been  Crighton,  laird  of 
Brunston,  by  whom  a  proposition  to  murder 
the  cardinal  was  sent  in  writing  to  Lord  Hert- 
ford by  the  hands  of  a  person  called  Wishart. 
Hertford  forwarded  the  message  and  messen- 
ger, together  with  a  letter  from  himself,  to  the 
king,  who  gave  the  messenger  an  audience,  ap- 
proved of  the  plot,  and  promised  those  con- 
cerned in  it  his  royal  protection.  A  correspond- 
ence on   the  subject  was   contiiuied    for    three 


344  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

years  between  Brunston,  the  earl  of  Cassilis 
and  Sir  Ralph  Sadler.  Henry  would  not  ap- 
pear in  it  directly,  but  deputed  Sadler  to  make 
the  arrangements  and  promise  the  reward.  The 
conspirators,  however,  refused  to  act  without  the 
king's  own  authority,  given  under  his  sign  man- 
ual.    Accordingly,  nothing  was  done. 

During  those  years  of  war  and  distrust  on  all 
sides,  the  true  reforming  party  of  Scotland  re- 
mained quiet  and  ventureless.  But  their  exist- 
ence could  not  be  concealed.  Arrests  were 
made  and  persons  executed  for  religion's  sake 
by  order  of  the  cardinal.  The  regent  caused  it 
to  be  brought  before  Parliament,  "How  there  is 
great  murmour  that  heretics  mair  and  mair  rises 
and  spreads  within  this  realm,  sawand  damnable 
opinions  in  contrair  the  faith  and  laws  of  haly 
Kirk,  acts  and  constitutions  of  this  realm.  Ex- 
hortand,  therefore,  all  prelates  and  ordinaries, 
ilk  ane  within  their  own  diocese  and  'jurisdic- 
tion, to  inquire  upon  all  sic  maner  of  persons, 
and  to  proceed  against  them  according  to  the 
laws  of  haly  Kirk  ;  and  my  said  lord  governor 
sail  be  ready  at  all  times  to  do  therein  that  ac- 
cords him  of  his  office." 

In  1544,  the  year  after  the  regent's  change 
of  politics,  George  Wishart,  an  eminent  Re- 
formed preacher,  returned  from  England.  He 
had  been  residing  at  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge for  some  dme.      Represented  by  con- 


GEORGE   WISHART  AND    CARDINAL   BEATON.    345 

temporaneous  accounts  as  a  man  of  remark- 
able gentleness  of  spirit,  piety,  benevolence 
and  self-denial,  he  was  possessed  of  superior 
learning  and  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
was  thought  to  be  endowed  with  the  spirit  of 
prophecy.  In  Scotland  he  began  to  preach  at 
Montrose.  His  manner  w^as  not  violent  or 
fiery,  but  earnest,  tender  and  impressive  in 
demonstrating  and  applying  Scripture  doc- 
trine, and  sometimes  solemnly  severe  in  re- 
buke of  prevailing  sins  and  errors.  From 
Montrose  he  went  to  Dundee,  where  he  lec- 
tured on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  with  great 
acceptance  of  all  who  attended.  By  order  of 
the  cardinal  he  was  interrupted  in  that  work. 
He  made  no  resistance,  but  withdrew  to  the 
west  country,  where  he  remained  a  consider- 
able time,  preaching  in  various  places,  espe- 
cially in  and  about  Ayr,  in  the  church  of  Gas- 
ton and  at  a  place  called  the  Bar.  At  Ayr  the 
archbishop  of  Glasgow  attempted  to  resist  him 
by  pre-occupying  the  church.  The  earl  of  Glen- 
cairn,  hearing  of  it,  repaired  thither  in  haste 
with  some  friends.  Other  gentlemen  of  Kyle 
did  likewise.  When  they  were  assembled,  it 
was  resolved  by  them  to  take  possession  of 
the  church  by  force.  Wishart  would  not  con- 
sent to  contend  with  the  bishop  for  it.  "  Let  * 
him  alane,"  said  he,  "  his  sermon  will  not  meikell 
hurt.     Let  us  go  to  the  mercate-cross."     They 


34^  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

followed  him  to  the  market-cross,  and  there, 
says  Knox,  "  he  preached  so  notable  a  sermon 
that  the  very  enemies  themselves  were  con- 
founded." Meanwhile,  the  good-natured  Arch- 
bishop Dunbar,  always  averse  to  severe  meas- 
ures, preached  a  sermon  apologetic  of  his  own 
and  his  episcopal  brethren's  neglect  of  preach- 
ing:  "  They  say  we  should  preach.  Why  not? 
Better  late  thrive  nor  never  thrive.  Had  us 
still  for  your  bishop,  and  we  shall  provide  bet- 
ter the  next  time." 

Wishart,  invited  to  Mauchline,  went  there, 
but  was  forbidden  the  use  of  the  church.  The 
gentlemen  who  invited  him  resolved  to  secure 
him  the  use  of  it,  if  they  should  have  to  fight 
for  it.  Wishart  dissuaded  them,  saying,  "  Christ 
Jesus  is  as  potent  upon  the  fields  as  in  the  kirk ; 
and  I  find  that  himself  often  preached  in  the  des- 
ert, at  the  seyside  and  other  places  judged  pro- 
fane, than  that  he  did  in  the  temple  at  Jerusa- 
lem. It  is  the  word  of  peace  which  the  Lord 
sends  by  me.  The  blood  of  no  man  shall  be 
shed  this  day  for  the  preaching  of  it."  And  so, 
withdrawing  the  assembly  to  a  little  distance 
from  the  town,  he  ascended  a  stone  dyke,  and 
there  preached  to  them,  as  they  stood  and  sat 
about  him  on  the  moor.  The  day  was  pleas- 
ant, and  the  sermon  was  continued  to  more 
than  three  hours,  in  which,  says  the  original 
reporter,  "  God  wrought  wonderfully  with  him." 


GEORGE   WISH  ART  AND    CARDINAL    BEATON.    34/ 

Hearing  that  the  plague  had  broken  out  at 
Dundee,  and  that  the  mortahty  was  very  great, 
no  persuasion  could  withhold  him  from  return- 
ing thither.  "  They  are  now  in  trouble,"  said 
he,  "  and  need  comfort.  Perchance  this  hand 
of  God  will  make  them  now  to  magnify  and 
reverence  that  word  which  before,  for  the  fear 
of  men,  they  set  at  light  part."  He  lost  no 
time,  but  immediately  upon  arriving  set  to  work 
in  ministering  to  the  sick,  whom  he  found  ne- 
glected, and  preaching  to  ail.  The  attendance 
upon  his  regular  sermons  was  large,  humble 
and  docile.  The  effect  was  alarminof  to  the 
hierarchy.  A  fanatical  priest  was  instigated 
to  kill  him.  Wishart  himself  detected  him  in 
time  to  prevent  the  intended  crime.  The  as- 
sembly, who  were  just  going  out  from  sermon, 
would  have  inflicted  summary  punishment ;  but 
Wishart  took  the  man  in  his  arms  and  would 
suffer  no  one  to  harm  him,  saying,  "  He  has 
done  great  comfort  both  to  you  and  me — to 
wit,  he  has  let  us  understand  what  we  may 
fear.     In  time  to  come  we  will  watch  better." 

After  the  plague  had  ceased  at  Dundee, 
Wishart  revisited  Montrose.  While  there  he 
received  an  application  in  the  name  of  some 
gentlemen  of  the  West  to  meet  them  in  Edin- 
burgh and  maintain  a  discussion  with  the  bish- 
ops, in  which  they  promised  to  protect  him. 
He  complied.      But  not  finding  them  in   Edin- 


348  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

burgh,  he  took  occasion  to  preach  at  some 
places  in  the  neighborhood.  Certain  gentle- 
men of  Lothian,  who  were  of  the  Reformed 
persuasion,  advised  him  that  it  was  not  expe- 
dient to  remain  there,  and  took  him  with  them 
to  their  country  residences.  The  Sunday  fol- 
lowing he  preached  in  the  church  at  Inveresk, 
both  morning  and  afternoon,  to  a  great  con- 
course of  people,  among  whom  was  Sir  George 
Douglas,  brother  of  Lord  Angus,  who  openly 
encouraged  the  people  by  saying  to  them  there 
that  he  "  would  maintain  the  doctrine  he  had 
heard  that  day,  and  also  defend  the  person  of 
the  preacher,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power." 

But  other  notices,  it  seems,  had  been  set 
afloat  which  intimidated  the  people.  Upon  a 
visit  to  Haddington,  where  he  expected  to 
preach,  Wishart  found  the  audience  very  small, 
and  began  to  perceive  that  machinations  were 
on  foot  against  him.  It  was  while  in  that  quar- 
ter that  he  became  acquainted  with  John  Knox, 
then  living  in  obscurity  as  a  private  tutor  to  the 
sons  of  Hugh  Douglas  of  Langnidrie.  The 
respect  for  the  talents  and  Christian  character 
of  Wishart  evinced  by  Knox  is  the  highest 
testimony  which  could  be  borne  to  either. 

Cardinal  Beaton  was  now  in  pursuit  of  the 
indefatigable  preacher,  and  had  thought  the 
cause  worth  seeing  after  in  person.  He  was 
in   the  neighborhood  at  Elphinstone.     Wishart 


GEORGE   WIS  HA  RT  A  ND    CA  RDINA  L   BE  A  TON.     349 

was  arrested  by  Earl  Bothwell,  father  of  one  of 
the  name  more  notorious,  and  submitted  to  the 
cardinal's  keeping.  After  some  removals,  he 
was  taken  to  St.  Andrews,  and  confined  in  the 
sea-tower  of  the  castle  or  episcopal  palace.  The 
cardinal  summoned  a  great  council  of  the  high- 
est clergy  in  the  land.  They  met  in  the  end  of 
February,  1546.  The  regent  was  applied  to 
for  sanction  of  the  civil  power.  He  refused  to 
grant  it,  and  informed  the  cardinal  that  he  would 
"  do  well  not  to  precipitate  the  man's  trial  until 
his  (the  regent's)  coming ;  for,  as  to  himself, 
he  would  not  consent  to  his  death  before  the 
cause  was  well  examined ;  and  if  the  cardinal 
should  do  otherwise,  he  would  make  protesta- 
tion that  the  man's  blood  should  be  required  at 
his  hands." 

The  cardinal,  confident  in  his  powers  as  papal 
legate,  replied  that  he  ''did  not  write  to  the  gov- 
ernor as  though  he  depended  in  any  matter 
upon  his  authority,  but  out  of  a  desire  he  had 
that  the  heretic's  condemnation  might  proceed 
with  some  show  of  public  consent,  which  since 
he  could  not  obtain,  he  would  himself  do  that 
which  he  held  most  fittinor."  Thus  he  assumed 
the  whole  responsibility  and  guilt. 

Georee  Wishart  was  arraigned  before  the 
cardinal  and  the  assembled  bishops  and  ab- 
bots on  eighteen  articles  of  heresy.  He  de- 
nied the  jurisdiction  of  the  court,  and  asserted 


3 so  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

that  he  was  unjustly  accused  of  some  of  the  arti- 
cles. His  objections  were  overruled,  and  him- 
self condemned  to  be  burned  as  a  heretic. 

In  this  case  the  usual  sham  of  handing  over 
the  condemned  to  the  secular  arm  was  omit- 
ted. The  punishment  was  inflicted  by  order  of 
the  archbishop  himself.  The  pile  was  erected 
in  front  of  his  own  castle.  Safety  from  inter- 
ruption was  secured  by  his  own  cannon,  and  he 
presided  over  the  execution  in  person.  George 
Wishart  was  burned  to  death  on  the  2d  of  March, 
1 546.  It  was  a  bold  ecclesiastical  act,  under  pro- 
test of  the  highest  civil  authority  of  the  land. 
The  perpetrator  of  it  was  satisfied  that  he  had 
struck  a  blow  at  heresy,  which  must  intimidate 
and  deter  all  others  disposed  to  preach  or 
otherwise  give  publicity  to  its  doctrines. 

As  long  as  the  attempt  to  suppress  the  growth 
of  Protestant  opinions  by  force  was  persevered 
in,  the  multitude  of  those  affected  by  it  remained 
silent.  The  government  was  very  plainly  in  a 
transition  state,  which  migfht  change  in  an  hour. 
Everything  depended  upon  the  frail  life  of  an 
infant.  If  she  died,  a  new  dynasty  would  come 
to  the  throne.  The  earl  of  Arran  was  the  next 
heir.  He  had  been  a  Protestant,  and  others  of 
the  Hamilton  family  had  proved  more  faithful 
to  that  cause.  If  subjected  to  the  advice  of  a 
strong  and  reliable  Protestant,  instead  of  the 
cardinal,    he    might   again    favor    Reformation. 


GEORGE    WISHART  AND   CARDINAL  BEATON.  35  I 

So  many  probabilities  lay  in  the  next  few 
years  of  the  future  that  good  and  wise  men 
deemed  it  prudent  to  await  a  more  favorable 
occasion.  But  some  impatient  spirits  could  not 
wait — men  of  that  class  who  always  insist  upon 
carrying  their  ends  at  their  own  time  and  by 
means  of  their  own  creating. 

In  1543  attacks  were  made  by  some  of  the 
populace  upon  monastic  houses  in  various  parts 
of  the  country.  At  Dundee  those  of  both  Black 
and  Grey  Friars  were  destroyed.  Soon  after- 
ward the  abbey  of  Lindores  "  was  sacked  by 
a  company  of  good  Christians,  as  they  were 
called,  who  turned  the  monks  out  of  doors." 
The  church  of  Arbroath  would  also  have  been 
destroyed  but  for  the  intervention  of  Lord  Ogil- 
vy.  At  Edinburgh  an  attack  of  the  same  kind 
was  made  upon  the  monastery  of  the  Black 
Friars,  but  was  repelled  by  a  promiscuous 
rising  of  the  citizens. 

Others  were  ready  to  lend  their  aid  to  Eng- 
lish invasion,  in  hopes  that,  the  Romish  party 
being  defeated,  the  nation  would  be  free  to  fol- 
low a  policy  of  the  popular  choice,  which  they 
fondly  hoped  would  not  be  Romish.  To  that 
class  belonged  the  earl  of  Angus,  his  brother 
Sir  George  Douglas,  the  earl  of  Cassilis,  John 
Leslie  and  others.  A  few  of  them  conceived 
of  a  more  direct  road  to  the  end  they  had  in 
view.       If  Cardinal   Beaton  were  disposed  of, 


352  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  regent  could  be  brought  under  more 
wholesome  advice,  and  the  principal  obstacle 
removed  out  of  the  Reformers'  way.  It  was 
well  known  to  them  that  such  an  event  would 
be  gratifying  to  the  king  of  England.  Their 
secret  negotiations  with  him  have  been  already 
mentioned.  The  plan  was  never  carried  into 
effect. 

The  three  years  during  which  that  disgrace- 
ful negotiation  lingered  contained  the  summit 
of  Beaton's  success.  He  actually  ruled  Scot- 
land at  the  head  of  the  papal  party.  Parlia- 
ment complied  with  all  his  measures  and  en- 
acted them  as  laws.  The  regent  was  in  reality 
his  second  in  power,  generally  compliant  with 
his  plans.  Heresy,  wherever  detected  in  accu- 
sable  form,  was  put  down  by  force — constrain- 
ed to  recant  or  silenced  in  death.  Sometimes 
where  the  charge  was  slight  the  penalty  im- 
posed was  the  severest.  At  Perth  five  men 
were  put  to  death  by  hanging  and  a  woman 
drowned — one  of  the  men,  because  he  denied 
that  prayer  to  the  saints  is  necessary  to  salva- 
tion ;  three  of  them,  because  they  were  guilty 
of  eating  a  goose  on  All- Hallow  evening;  and 
the  fifth,  because  he  was  found  in  their  com- 
pany. The  woman  was  put  to  death  because 
she  refused  to  pray  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and 
would  pray  only  to  God  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ. 


GEORGE   WISH  ART  AND  CARDINAL   BEATON.     353 

Meanwhile,  George  Wishart  was  preaching 
in  Scotland,  and  his  preaching  was  followed  by 
ofreat  relieious  interest  in  both  east  and  west. 
Some  have  assumed  that  he  was  the  Wishart 
who  carried  the  message  of  Brunston  into  Enor- 
land.  The  name  Wishart  was  not  uncommon, 
and  such  a  plot  as  that  proposed  by  Brunston 
is  so  strangely  contradictory  of  all  that  we 
know  of  the  martyr  that  nothing  short  of  the 
most  indubitable  identification  can  satisfy  us 
that  he  was  the  bearer  of  such  a  communica- 
tion. In  nothing  was  the  martyr  Wishart  more 
signally  characterized  among  the  men  of  his 
day  than  by  his  tenderness  for  human  suffer- 
ing and  shrinking  from  violence  which  mieht 
end  in  shedding  of  blood. 

The  burning  of  George  Wishart  profoundly 
stirred  the  feelings  of  all  classes.  The  more 
peaceful  were  grieved  and  indignant,  while  the 
violent  were  stimulated  to  revenge.  For  the 
time  being,  tongues  were  let  loose  with  unpre- 
cedented freedom.  Impulse  set  caution  at  de- 
fiance. On  some  points  people  could  censure 
the  conduct  of  the  cardinal  without  danger. 
He  had  taken  the  whole  execution  into  his  own 
hands,  and  brought  upon  the  Church  an  oblo- 
quy which  she  had  been  always  very  careful  to 
shift  from  herself  to  the  civil  arm.  Because  a 
man  condemned  that  irregularity  it  did  not  fol- 
low that  he  was  a  heretic.     On  another  point 

23 


354  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  cardinal  was  exposed  to  censure  which 
could  not  be  repelled  as  heresy:  his  moral 
conduct  was  notorious.  Whatever  gallantries 
he  concealed,  there  were  some  which  he  car- 
ried on  without  shame  and  openly  admitted. 

The  voice  of  condemnation  was  heard  In 
many  quarters,  and  some  took  the  ground  that, 
If  there  was  no  law  In  the  land  to  prevent  or 
punish  the  atrocities  of  which  he  was  guilty, 
they  should  be  stopped  by  the  law  of  natural 
vengeance.  John  Leslie,  brother  to  the  earl 
of  Rothes,  and  no  doubt  others,  thoup^ht  that 
the  country  had  endured  more  than  enough  of 
this  cruel  and  Irrational  despotism,  and  open- 
ly vowed  that  he  would  see  punishment  Inflict- 
ed upon  the  man  who  had  been  guilty  of  It. 

Meanwhile,  the  cardinal  and  his  clergy  were 
flattering  themselves  with  having  silenced  her- 
esy under  their  jurisdiction  In  the  flames  of 
him  who  alone  had  dared  to  preach  Its  doc- 
trines publicly.  They  were  soon  to  be  unde- 
ceived. The  popularity  which  the  cardinal 
once  had  with  those  who  believed  in  his  patri- 
otism was  now  forfeited.  Although  the  clergy 
lavished  praise  upon  him  for  his  defence  of  the 
Church,  none  among  the  laity,  save  the  most 
extreme  papalists,  were  found  to  defend  him. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  Wish- 
art  was  executed  the  cardinal  caused  a  proc- 
lamation to  be  made  through  the  city  forbid- 


GEORGE   WISHART  AND    CARDINAL   BEATON.    355 

ding  prayers  to  be  offered  for  the  soul  of  the 
heretic,  under  pain  of  the  heaviest  penalties. 
He  had  reached  the  summit  of  his  pride.  By 
the  priesthood  he  was  lauded  to  the  skies  as 
the  true  and  powerful  protector  of  the  Church. 
They  boasted  that,  disregarding  the  "  gover- 
nor's authority,  he  had  of  himself  caused  jus- 
tice to  be  executed  upon  the  heretic,"  and 
proved  the  "  most  worthy  patron  of  the  eccle- 
siastical state."  Yet,  proud  as  he  was  of  his 
achievement,  and  perhaps  most  proud  of  hav- 
ing snubbed  the  reo^ent,  and  exercised  the 
powers  which  properly  belonged  to  him,  the 
haughty  prelate  seems  to  have  been  not  quite 
sure  of  his  own  safety ;  for  he  set  to  work 
to  strengthen  the  defences  of  his  palace,  the 
castle  of  St.  Andrews,  and  kept  It  well  sup- 
plied with  munitions  of  war. 

Not  long  after  the  burning  of  George  Wish- 
art,  Cardinal  Beaton  went  In  great  state  to 
FInhaven  Castle,  In  Angus,  to  be  present  at 
the  marriage  of  his  daughter  Margaret  to  Da- 
vid Lindsay,  heir  of  the  earldom  of  Crawford, 
to  which  he  afterward  succeeded.  The  wed- 
dincr  was  celebrated  with  the  utmost  ma^nlf- 
icence,  and  the  dowry  of  the  bride  was  equal 
to  that  of  a  princess.  Margaret  Beaton,  the 
illegitimate  daughter  of  a  Romish  priest,  became 
a  countess  and  the  mother  of  four  successive 
eeneratlons  of  noblemen. 


356  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

In  the  midst  of  the  festivities  news  arrived 
that  Henry  VIII.  was  advancing  with  a  great 
army  to  invade  Scotland.  Beaton  hastened  to 
St.  Andrews  to  push  forward  the  strengthen- 
ing of  his  castle,  and  to  rouse  the  nobility  of 
the  nation  and  organize  an  effective  resistance, 
as  if  all  the  duties  of  government  rested  upon 
his  shoulders.  The  alarm  proved  false.  Not 
the  less  did  he  go  on  with  the  work  upon  the 
ramparts  of  his  castle-palace. 

On  the  28th  of  May,  in  the  evening,  Norman 
Leslie,  the  son  of  Lord  Rothes,  with  five  fol- 
lowers, rode  into  the  town  of  St.  Andrews  and 
put  up  at  his  usual  lodgings.  William  Kir- 
caldy  of  Grange  was  already  there.  Later  in 
the  evening,  and  when  it  was  now  dark,  came 
John  Leslie,  the  uncle  of  Norman,  also  Peter 
Carmichael  and  the  gentle,  modest,  but  resolute 
fanatic  James  Melville,  and  others  to  the  num- 
ber of  sixteen  in  all — all  of  gentle  if  not  noble 
blood. 

Next  morning,  by  daybreak,  they  were  as- 
sembled in  little  groups  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  castle.  The  porter  had  lowered  the  draw- 
bridge to  admit  the  masons  and  other  workmen. 
Norman  Leslie  and  three  of  his  companions  en- 
tered with  them  and  inquired  for  the  cardinal. 
The  porter  answered  without  suspicion  that  he 
was  not  yet  awake.  While  they  were  talking, 
James  Melville,  Kircaldy  of  Grange  and  others 


GEORGE   WISHART  AND    CARDINAL   BEATON    357 

entered  also.  At  the  approach  of  the  rest,  with 
John  LesHe  at  their  head,  the  porter  suspected 
dano-er  and  hastened  to  raise  the  drawbridore. 
But  Leshe  was  too  quick  for  him,  and,  having 
stepped  on  it,  stayed  it  and  leaped  in.  The 
porter  was  knocked  on  the  head,  his  keys  taken 
from  him,  and  himself  tumbled  into  the  foss  in 
a  few  seconds,  and  so  silently  that  no  alarm 
was  given.  With  equal  silence  the  workmen 
were  led  to  the  gate  and  dismissed,  before  they 
had  time  to  exchanofe  a  word  with  one  another 
or  could  think  what  was  the  matter.  Other  con- 
spirators went  to  the  apartments  of  the  different 
gentlemen  of  the  household,  and  led  them  in 
silence,  one  by  one,  to  the  outer  wicket  and  dis- 
missed them  without  injury.  One  hundred  and 
fifty  persons  were  thus  disposed  of  briefly  and 
silently  by  those  sixteen  men,  resolute  and  self- 
possessed,  who  then,  dropping  the  portcullis  and 
shutting  the  gates,  were  mastery  of  the  castle. 

By  this  time  some  noise  awoke  the  cardinal. 
Looking  out  of  his  window,  he  asked,  "  What 
means  that  noise  ?"  Some  one  answered, 
''  Norman  Leslie  has  taken  the  castle."  He 
then  ran  to  the  postern,  but  finding  it  guarded, 
hurried  back  to  his  room,  seized  a  two-handed 
sword  and  ordered  his  servant  to  bolt  the  door 
and  barricade  it  with  heavy  furniture.  John 
Leslie  demanded  admittance.  "Who  calls?" 
asked   the   cardinal. — "  My  name  is   Leslie." — 


358  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

**Is  it  Norman?" — "My  name  is  John." — "I 
will  have  Norman,  for  he  is  my  friend." — "Con- 
tent yourself  with  such  as  are  here,  for  other 
shall  ye  get  nane."  With  John  Leslie  were 
Melville  and  Carmichael.  While  they  were 
attempting  to  force  the  door  open  Beaton 
called  to  them,  "Will  ye  save  my  life?" — "It 
may  be  that  we  will,"  replied  Leslie. — "Nay,  but 
swear  unto  me,  by  God's  wounds,  and  I  shall 
open  unto  you." — "  It  that  was  said  is  unsaid," 
was  the  answer.  Fire  was  now  called  for  to 
burn  the  door.  It  was  opened  from  within. 
"  I  am  a  priest,"  exclaimed  the  cardinal — "  I 
am  a  priest;  ye  will  not  slay  me."  Leslie,  who 
rushed  upon  him,  struck  him  once  or  twice,  and 
was  followed  by  Peter  Carmichael. 

James  Melville  interposed.  "This  work  and 
judgment  of  God,"  said  he,  "although  it  be  se- 
cret, yet  it  ought  to  be  done  with  greater  grav- 
ity ;"  and  presenting  the  point  of  his  sword  to 
the  cardinal's  breast,  went  on  to  say,  "  Repent 
thee  of  thy  former  wicked  life,  but  especially 
of  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  that  notable 
instrument  of  God,  Master  George  Wishart, 
which,  albeit  that  the  flame  of  fire  consumed 
before  men,  yet  cries  it  a  vengeance  upon  thee, 
and  we  from  God  are  sent  to  revenue  it.  For 
here  before  God  I  protest  that  neither  the  ha- 
tred of  thy  person,  the  love  of  thy  riches  nor 
the  fear  of  any  trouble  thou  couldst  have  done 


GEORGE    WISIIART  AND    CARDINAL    BEATON.     359 

to  me  In  particular  moved  or  moveth  me  to 
strike  thee ;  but  only  because  thou  hast  been, 
and  remainest,  an  obstinate  enemy  to  Christ 
Jesus  and  his  holy  evangel."  Having  delib- 
erately so  spoken,  he  passed  his  sword  two  or 
three  times  through  the  cardinal's  body.  The 
miserable  victim's  only  words,  as  he  sank  down 
in  the  chair  on  which  he  was  seated,  were,  "  I  am 
a  priest,  I  am  priest ;  f y  !  f y  !  all  is  gone  !" 

Great  excitement  had  now  arisen  in  the  city, 
and  a  crowd  assembled  in  front  of  the  castle, 
demanding  that  the  cardinal  should  appear. 
The  conspirators,  after  some  delay,  finally 
complied  with  their  urgency  to  see  him  by 
suspending  the  bleeding  body  out  of  a  win- 
dow.    The  crowd  then  quietly  dispersed. 

Cardinal  Beaton  being  dead,  the  conspira- 
tors retained  possession  of  his  castle  for  their 
own  safety.  To  avenge  the  death  of  a  mar- 
tyr they  had  become  criminals  before  the  law 
of  the  land.  Some  of  them  were  otherwise 
good  men,  earnestly  pious  men,  misled  by  er- 
roneous Ideas  of  natural  justice,  and  by  misap- 
plication of  certain  passages  in  Old-Testament 
history.  Others,  of  a  different  character,  took 
part  in  the  conspiracy  to  gratify  their  own  out- 
raged feelings.  Beaton's  private  conduct  had 
been  such  as  to  array  no  little  of  that  kind  of 
animosity  against  him.  But  all  alike  felt  that 
they  were  involved   in  what  the  civil   as  well   as 


360  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

ecclesiastical  law  deemed  a  crime  of  great  enor- 
mity. It  was  thought  safest  to  keep  together 
and  retain  the  protection  of  the  castle,  which 
was  well  supplied  with  provisions  and  means 
of  defence,  until  the  most  favorable  terms  pos- 
sible could  be  secured  from  the  authorities. 

Learning  that  state  of  the  case,  John  Rough, 
a  zealous  Reformed  preacher,  came  to  St.  An- 
drews to  undertake  their  religious  instruction. 
And  about  the  same  time  Henry  Balnavis,  an 
eminent  lawyer  and  statesman,  with  some  oth- 
ers, joined  them,  until  altogether  they  number- 
ed not  much  less  than  a  hundred  and  fifty. 

On  the  other  side,  the  regent  was  assailed 
with  all  urgency  by  the  bishops  to  take  some 
course  for  bringing  speedy  and  condign  pun- 
ishment upon  the  murderers.  He  preferred 
the  regular  course  of  law,  and  issued  summons 
for  their  appearance  under  trial.  They  refused 
to  comply,  and  were  denounced  as  rebels,  while 
the  ecclesiastical  authorities  solemnly  cursed 
them  and  all  who  should  harbor  them  or  fur- 
nish them  with  aid  or  comfort. 

For  the  vacant  primacy  the  regent  nomi- 
nated his  half-brother,  John  Hamilton,  bishop 
of  Dunkeld.  The  nomination  was  followed  by 
regular  election.  The  pope,  Paul  III.,  fearing 
the  secession  of  Scotland  entirely  from  his  do- 
minion, confirmed  the  election  without  delay, 
earnestly  representing  to  the   regent  and   the 


GEORGE   WISHART  AND   CARDINAL   BEATON.     36 1 

new  archbishop  the  duty  of  adequately  pun- 
ishing the  injury  done  to  the  ecclesiastical 
state  by  the  slaying  of  Beaton. 

The  castle  of  St.  Andrews  stood  upon  the 
northern  verge  of  the  town,  fronting  toward 
the  abbey  at  the  opposite  extremity,  and  upon 
ground  a  little  lower  than  the  adjoining  street. 
Its  walls  on  the  east  were  washed  by  the  sea, 
and  on  other  sides  looked  out  upon  a  country 
flat  and  bare.  A  siege  conducted  with  the 
armies  now  in  use  such  a  structure  could  not 
have  resisted  for  a  day.  But  all  the  resources 
then  at  the  command  of  the  regent  were  em- 
ployed against  it  between  four  and  five  months 
in  vain.  The  besieged,  by  their  unobstructed 
access  to  the  sea,  were  abundantly  furnished 
with  all  necessary  supplies  from  England. 

In  January,  1547,  the  regent,  apprehensive 
that  they  might  be  supported  by  an  army  from 
the  same  quarter,  agreed  to  a  capitulation  on 
the  following  terms :  First,  that  they  should 
keep  the  castle  of  St.  Andrews  until  the  gov- 
ernor and  authority  of  Scotland  should  get 
them  a  sufficient  absolution  from  the  pope  for 
the  slaughter  of  the  cardinal.  Second,  that 
they  should  give  pledges  for  the  surrender  of 
that  house  as  soon  as  the  absolution  was  de- 
livered unto  them,  and  that  they  should  keep 
the  earl  of  Arran,  son  of  the  regent,  who  was 
among    them,  as    long  as   their   pledges   were 


362  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

kept.  And  third,  that  they,  their  friends,  ser- 
vants and  others  to  them  pertaining,  should 
simply  be  remitted  by  the  governor,  and  never 
be  called  in  question  for  said  slaughter,  but 
should  enjoy  all  commodities,  spiritual  and 
temporal,  which  they  possessed  before  the 
committing  thereof.  "  Articles  liberal  enough," 
says  Knox,  "for  they  never  minded  to  keep  a 
word  of  them,  as  the  issue  did  declare." 

The  siege  was  raised,  and  until  the  arrival 
of  the  absolution  the  conspirators  held  the  cas- 
tle, and  those  of  them  not  implicated  in  the 
murder  went  out  and    in   without   beinor   nio- 

o 

lested. 

It  was  during  this  interval  that  John  Knox 
came  among  them,  bringing  with  him  the  three 
lads  under  his  tuition.  "Wearied,"  as  he 
writes,  "  of  removing  from  place  to  place  by 
reason  of  the  persecution  which  came  upon 
him,"  he  had  thought  of  going  abroad,  but  the 
fathers  of  the  boys  whom  he  taught  persuaded 
him  to  go  to  St.  Andrews,  that  he  might  have  the 
protection  of  the  castle,  and  their  sons  the  con- 
tinued "  benefit  of  his  doctrine."  Amonor  the 
lessons  which  he  gave  was  included  a  cate- 
chism of  religious  instruction,  on  which  he  ex- 
amined his  pupils  pubhcly  in  the  parish  church 
of  St.  Andrews,  and  also  reading  the  Gospels, 
which  he  accompanied  with  exposition  adapted 
to  their  capacity.     This  was  done  in  the  chapel 


GEORGE   WISH  ART  AND   CARDINAL   BEATON    363 

of  the  castle.  Persons  who  happened  to  be 
present  at  those  lessons  felt  themselves  much 
profited,  and  the  suggestion  was  made,  and 
universally  approved,  that  he  should  be  invited 
to  preach.  He  was  an  ordained  priest,  but  had 
shrunk  from  service  in  the  Romish  Church, 
and  now  also  declined  this  invitation.  The 
congregation  in  the  castle,  after  consulting 
together  in  his  absence,  commissioned  John 
Rough,  their  pastor,  to  press  their  call  upon 
him  publicly.  Rough  preached  a  sermon  on 
the  call  to  the  ministry,  and  at  the  close,  turn- 
ing to  Knox,  made  a  solemn  application  of  the 
doctrine  to  him,  and  uttered  the  charge  which 
he  had  been  requested  to  deliver.  Then  turn- 
ing to  the  congregation,  he  asked,  ''  Was  not 
this  your  charge  unto  me  ?  And  do  you  not 
approve  this  vocation?" — They  answered,  *' It 
was,  and  we  approve  it." 

Knox,  overcome  with  emotion,  made  no  re- 
ply, but  rose  and  withdrew.  Accepting  the  call 
as  of  God,  he  felt  no  comfort  until  he  appeared, 
after  several  days,  in  the  new  capacity  of  a  min- 
ister of  the  gospel.  Until  the  response  arrived 
from  Rome  he  continued  to  assist  in  preaching 
and  pastoral  work  in  the  castle,  and  both  he 
and    Rough  occasionally  preached  in  the  city. 

A  certain  dean,  John  Annan,  had  long  trou- 
bled Rough  in  his  ministry.  Knox  defended 
the  preacher  with  his  pen,  and  had  beaten  Dean 


364  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

John  from  all  his  defences  until  he  took  refuge 
in  the  absolute  authority  of  the  Church.  Knox 
insisted  upon  knowing  what  was  the  Church,  by 
definition  drawn  from  Scripture,  and  offered  to 
prove  that  the  Roman  Church  of  that  day  "was 
further  degenerate  from  the  purity  which  was 
in  the  days  of  the  apostles  than  was  the  Church 
of  the  Jews  from  the  ordinance  given  by  Moses 
when  they  consented  to  the  innocent  death  of 
Jesus  Christ."  These  words  were  spoken  open- 
ly in  the  parish  church.  The  people  called  out 
that  they  wished  to  hear  his  proof.  Accord- 
ingly, he  made  that  his  theme  next  Sunday  in 
the  same  place,  taking  for  his  text  the  seventh 
chapter  of  Daniel ;  in  discussing  which  he  car- 
ried attack  upon  the  errors  of  the  Catholic 
Church  and  the  corruptions  of  the  papacy  in 
all  their  breadth,  describing  also  the  features  of 
the  true  Church  in  New-Testament  language. 

This  was  heresy  of  a  bolder  type  than  had 
hitherto  been  heard  in  Scotland.  It  was  some- 
thing very  different  from  the  modest  and  gentle 
earnestness  of  Hamilton  and  Wishart.  They 
had  proclaimed  the  gospel  with  warmth  and 
fullness,  but  avoided  unnecessary  attacks  upon 
their  enemies.  This  new  preacher  launched  his 
denunciations  against  error  on  every  hand,  and 
hurled  his  arguments  at  the  heads  of  its  de- 
fenders with  a  boldness  wdiich  enlisted  the  con- 
fidence of   one  party  while  it  filled  the  other 


GEORGE   WISH  ART  AND    CARDINAL   BEATON.    365 

with  dismay.  With  an  irresistible  power  of 
logic,  an  uncommon  command  of  Scripture,  and 
a  keen  satirical  wit  and  humor,  he  reveled  in 
the  facility  of  defeating  all  opponents.  The 
Scottish  Reformation  at  last  beheld  its  lead- 
er, one  of  the  God-made  rulers  of  men. 

The  archbishop,  who  was  not  present  nor  yet 
fully  inducted,  wrote  to  the  sub-prior,  Winram, 
saying  "  that  he  wondered  how  he  could  suffer 
such  heretical  and  schismatical  doctrines  to  be 
taught"  without  opposition.  Winram — partly 
of  the  Reformer's  opinion,  but  privately — com- 
plied with  the  order  of  his  superior,  called  a 
convention  of  both  Black  and  Grey  Friars,  and 
cited  Knox  and  Rough  to  appear  before  them. 
A  list  of  articles  was  read  in  which  they  were 
charged  with  teaching  heresy.  The  sub-prior 
listened  to  their  answers,  and  responded  with 
some  mild  objections.  A  Grey  Friar,  one  Ar- 
buckle,  rushed  into  the  discussion,  but  soon  be- 
gan to  feel  embarrassed  under  the  hard  and 
lucid  arguments  which  encountered  him,  and 
in  his  desperation  asserted,  among  other  fool- 
ish things,  that  the  apostles  had  not  received 
the  Holy  Ghost  when  they  wrote  their  Epistles. 
The  sub-prior  found  it  necessary  to  reprove  his 
assistant  and  bring  the  conference  to  a  close. 
He  dismissed  the  preachers  with  a  brotherly 
admonition  "to  take  heed  what  doctrine  they 
taught  in    public."      That  kind   of   debate  the 


366  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

monks  did  not  again  Invite.  Such  was  the  ef- 
fect of  the  preaching  by  Knox  and  Rough  in 
St.  Andrews  that  all  the  occupants  of  the  castle 
and  many  people  of  the  town  joined  in  partak- 
ing of  the  Lord's  Supper  after  the  scriptural  ex- 
ample. 

John  Rough,  soon  after  that  occasion,  went 
into  England,  where  he  continued  to  preach  in 
various  cities  until  the  death  of  Edward  VI.  In 
the  time  of  Mary  he  fled  into  Friesland,  but,  re- 
turning to  England  in  1557,  he  was  arrested 
and  burned  in  Smithfield. 

When  the  papal  absolution  came  it  was 
found  not  satisfactory,  and  was  rejected.  In 
less  than  a  month  a  French  fleet  arrived  with 
a  besieging  army.  The  garrison  of  the  castle 
was  once  more  cooped  up  within  their  walls. 
By  the  end  of  July,  1547,  they  surrendered,  on 
condition  that  their  lives  should  be  spared;  their 
leading  men  were  to  be  transported  to  France, 
or  conveyed  upon  the  French  ships  to  any  other 
country  they  might  prefer,  except  Scotland. 

The  French  captain  then  plundered  the  cas- 
tle of  everything  worth  carrying  away.  After 
he  had  gone,  it  was  reduced  to  ruins — doomed, 
as  a  place  where  a  cardinal  had  been  slain.  The 
loss  of  that  cardinal  was  a  calamity  from  which 
the  papal  cause  In  Scotland  never  recovered. 


CHAPTER   II. 

ALLIANCE    WITH  FRANCE. 

AFTER  the  capture  of  the  castle  of  St.  An- 
drews, the  prisoners  were  taken  on  French 
galleys  to  Rouen.  There,  after  some  delay, 
orders  were  received  distributing  them  all  in 
different  places  of  imprisonment — in  Rouen, 
Cherbourg,  Brest  and  Mont  St.  Michel,  and 
some,  among  whom  was  John  Knox,  in  the  gal- 
leys. This  disregard  of  the  capitulation  was 
referred  to  the  instance  of  the  pope  and  the 
Scottish  bishops. 

From  Rouen  the  galleys  sailed  to  Nantes, 
and  lay  all  winter  in  the  Loire.  Next  sum- 
mer they  sailed  to  the  coast  of  Scotland,  on  the 
outlook  for  English  vessels.  By  exposure,  hard 
labor  and  cruel  treatment,  Knox's  health  was 
seriously  impaired,  and  for  a  time  his  life  was 
in  danger  ;  but  he  never  despaired  of  the  cause 
in  which  he  suffered,  nor  wavered  in  his  hope 
of  further  serving  it.  While  sailing  along  the 
coast  in  sight  of  St.  Andrews  he  replied  to  a 
friend,  who  asked  him  if  he  knew  that  city, 
"  Yes,  I  know  it  well ;  for  I  see  the  steeple  of 

367 


368  THE    CHURCH   IN  SCOTLAND. 

that  place  where  God  first  opened  my  mouth  in 
public  to  his  glory;  and  I  am  fully  persuaded, 
how  weak  soever  I  now  appear,  that  I  shall  not 
depart  this  life  till  that  my  tongue  shall  glorify 
his  godly  name  in  the  same  place."  Meanwhile, 
in  moments  of  relief  from  fever  and  from  toil, 
he  wrote  a  statement  of  the  doctrines  which  he 
believed,  and  found  means  to  have  it  sent  to  his 
friends  at  home  for  their  instruction  and  the 
confirmation  of  their  faith. 

It  was  in  prison  also  that  Henry  Balnavis 
composed  that  treatise  on  justification  and  the 
works  of  a  justified  man  which  was,  some  time 
afterward,  prepared  for  the  press  with  notes 
and  a  "  recommendatory  dedication  "  by  John 
Knox. 

In  Scotland,  soon  after  the  departure  of 
the  French  fleet,  an  English  army  crossed  the 
border,  and  advanced,  under  command  of  the 
Protector  Somerset,  as  far  as  the  vicinity  of 
Edinburgh.  Then  followed,  on  the  loth  of 
September,  the  battle  of  Pinkie,  that  deepest 
and  last  of  the  disasters  which  humiliated  the 
regency  of  Arran.  The  country  seemed  on  the 
point  of  being  prostrated  beneath  the  feet  of  a 
strong  and  victorious  enemy.  But,  for  some 
unknown  reason,  the  Protector,  after  destroy- 
ing the  church  of  Holyrood  and  other  places 
around  Edinburgh,  returned  to  England.  In 
February,  following    a    victory   won   upon    the 


ALLIANCE   WITH  FRANCE.  369 

border  restored  the  spirits  of  the  Scots  and 
the  expectations  of  their  alHes. 

Occasion  was  taken  of  the  increased  animos- 
ity toward  England,  created  by  the  war,  to  se- 
cure for  France  the  advantages  of  a  marriage 
with  the  queen  of  Scotland.  A  small  but  well- 
trained  and  well-equipped  body  of  French 
auxiliaries  landed  at  Leith  in  June,  1548,  and 
proved  of  valuable  service  in  helping  to  recov- 
er the  strongholds  garrisoned  by  the  English. 
Soon  after  their  arrival,  the  French  ambassa- 
dor, D'Esse,  laid  proposals  in  reference  to  the 
royal  marriage  before  the  Estates.  They  were 
jealously  discussed,  and  a  treaty  was  conclud- 
ed in  July,  whereby  the  little  maiden  of  Scotland 
was  to  become  the  wife  of  the  heir-apparent  of 
France,  as  soon  as  both  should  reach  the  proper 
aore.  Until  then  she  was  to  reside  with  her  moth- 
er's  kindred  of  Lorraine.  The  ambassador,  on 
his  return,  was  to  be  her  escort  to  the  land  of 
her  education  and  her  honors,  and,  as  it  proved 
in  the  end,  the  source  of  her  misfortunes.  To 
escape  English  cruisers  on  the  common  route, 
the  French  ships  sailed  out  of  the  Forth,  round 
the  northern  extremity  of  Scotland,  and  took 
their  precious  little  passenger  on  board  at 
Dumbarton.  Mary  Stuart  first  set  foot  in 
France  at  Brest  on  the  30th  of  August,  1548, 
when  six  years  of  age. 

The    Scottish   statesmen    who    favored    the 

24 


370  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

French  alliance  were  not  more  patriotic 
than  those  who  preferred  the  English ;  the 
policy  of  the  latter  was,  in  fact,  the  wiser  and 
farther-reaching  of  the  two,  but  at  that  time 
was  intensely  unpopular.  On  the  other  side, 
calamities  enough  arose  out  of  the  brief  union 
of  the  two  crowns,  Scottish  and  French;  and 
had  it  lasted  the  ordinary  life  of  man,  nothing 
but  continued  calamity  could  have  been  expect- 
ed, possibly  the  entire  subjugation  of  the  weak- 
er country.  And  yet  that  the  policy  of  the 
French  party  prevailed  was  nothing  more  than 
the  natural  effect  of  causes  too  controlling  for 
the  wisest  policy  to  counteract.  The  clergy 
were  all  in  favor  of  France,  for  France  was 
Catholic  and  persecuted  Protestants ;  England 
was  Protestant  and  held  Catholics  under  re- 
pression ;  and  the  greater  number  of  Scottish 
people,  whatever  they  might  think  of  their 
priests,  were  still  Catholic.  On  the  part  of 
the  suitors  there  was  a  difference  of  manner, 
in  itself  enough  to  decide  the  question.  Eng- 
land wooed  with  threats  of  compulsion  and 
desolating  war;  France  with  professions  of 
friendship  and  military  aid. 

The  shortsighted  policy  turned  out.  In  the  de- 
velopments of  Providence,  to  the  overthrow  of 
the  party  that  chose  it  and  the  humiliation  and 
ruin  of  the  unhappy  woman  personally  con- 
cerned, but  to  the  best  for  the  nation.      Had 


ALLIANCE   WITH  FRANCE.  3/1 

Mary  been  taken  to  England  and  educated  a 
Protestant  as  the  betrothed  bride  of  Edward 
VI.,  the  result,  in  any  conceivable  probability,  in 
the  death  of  the  young  king  before  marriage- 
able age,  and  the  succeeding  reign  of  the  Cath- 
olic Mary  Tudor,  could  not  have  been  worse  for 
Mary  Stuart  personally,  and  would  have  put 
her  in  harmony  with  her  subjects,  when  old 
enough  to  reign,  even  if  it  had  not,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Protestants  of  England,  constitu- 
ted her  their  most  eligible  candidate  for  their 
throne  after  the  death  of  Mary  Tudor — a  can- 
didate whose  legitimacy  even  Catholics  could 
not  have  questioned.  Thus  she  might  herself 
have  done  what  was  actually  reserved  for  her  son 
to  do — worn  the  two  crowns.  But  that  would 
not  have  led  to  the  measures  by  which  the  Cath- 
olics so  prejudiced  their  cause  in  Scotland  as  to 
create  a  tide  of  revulsion  which  confirmed  the 
independence  of  the  Reformed  Church. 

For  the  then  existing  present,  however,  the 
results  tended  to  peace.  The  war  by  which 
Scotland  had  been  so  long  harassed  was  sub- 
sequently prosecuted  by  the  English  with  little 
zeal,  while  the  Scots  and  their  French  allies 
won  rapid  victories.  It  was  brought  to  an 
end  in  April,  1550,  by  a  treaty  in  which  Scot- 
land recovered  the  boundaries  which  she  had 
before  it  beo^an. 

In  September  of  the  same  year  the  queen- 


372  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

mother,  Mary  of  Lorraine,  made  a  visit  to 
France.  During  her  residence  there,  plans 
were  initiated  for  the  ultimate  annexation  of 
Scotland.  The  first  step  was  to  have  Mary 
herself  put  into  the  place  of  regent.  With  a 
view  to  that  end  high  honors  were  conferred 
upon  the  earl  of  Arran.  He  was  invested  with 
the  duchy  of  Chatelherault,  with  its  town  and 
palace.  Nor  were  the  favors  from  the  side 
of  France  conferred  In  such  a  way  that  the 
proud  noble  should  feel  them  as  a  price  paid 
for  the  highest  place  in  his  native  land,  but  that 
the  good-natured,  weak  and  compliant  man,  by 
recelvlnp-  unsougfht  and  unconditional  favors 
from  a  friend,  In  such  exalted  station,  might  feel 
disposed  to  return  an  equally  exalted  and  un- 
sought kindness.  At  the  same  time,  Arran  was 
not  ignorant  of  his  own  unpopularity  among 
his  countrymen.  It  had  been  Increasing  since 
1544,  and  an  irregular  meeting  of  some  mem- 
bers of  the  Estates,  or  Scottish  Parliament,  had 
given  expression  to  that  feeling  In  their  dis- 
tinctly stated  intention  to  depose  him  and  put 
the  queen-mother  in  his  place.  The  annoy- 
ance which  he  suffered,  on  the  one  side,  from 
those  who  wished  him  to  remain  in  office,  and 
on  the  other  from  the  action  of  his  opponents, 
seems  at  last  to  have  become  more  than  he 
cared  to  endure.  Things  were  accordingly  so 
disposed  that  the  duke  of  Chatelherault  grace- 


ALLIANCE   WITH  FRANCE.  373 

fully  yielded  the  regency  of  Scotland,  which  in 
April,  1554,  was  conferred  upon  Mary  of  Lor- 
raine. 

After  France  had  completed  the  treaty  of 
marriage  with  the  heir  of  the  Scottish  throne, 
obtained  possession  of  the  person  of  the  sov- 
ereio^n  and  be^un  to  think  of  the  ultimate 
annexation  of  that  kingdom,  and  thereby  of 
retaliating  humiliation  upon  England,  it  be- 
came a  matter  of  very  little  moment  to  court 
the  favor  of  a  dozen  Scottish  bishops  by  hold- 
ing in  custody  a  hundred  Scottish  prisoners. 
Accordingly,  the  exiles  of  St.  Andrews  were 
soon  afterward  set  free,  some  in  1549,  and  the 
rest  after  the  taking  of  Boulogne  in  1550.  A 
few  had  escaped  by  their  own  ingenuity  and  en- 
terprise. They  all  lived  to  enjoy  their  liberation, 
except  James  Melville,  who  died  of  sickness  in 
prison.  Knox  was  liberated  in  1549,  and  im- 
mediately passed  over  into  England,  where  he 
was  employed  in  the  reformation  then  going 
on  under  Edward  VI.  Appointed  to  preach 
in  Berwick  and  about  Newcastle,  and  after- 
ward in  London  and  the  south  of  England,  he 
continued  in  that  service  until  the  death  of 
the  king.  His  salary  was  then  withheld,  but 
he  did  not  cease  preaching  until  the  Marian 
persecution  began. 

In  the  five  terrible  years  which  succeeded, 
many  English  Protestants  found  refuge  in  Scot- 


374  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

land,  seeking  safety  in  obscurity,  as  did  their 
co-religionist  Scots  themselves ;  but  for  Knox 
to  go  there  would  have  been  to  rush  into  the 
clutches  of  his  deadly  enemies.  The  chair  of 
David  Beaton  was  now  occupied  by  John  Ham- 
ilton, a  man  of  entirely  kindred  spirit.  Ham- 
ilton, in  his  degree,  was  following  the  example 
of  Beaton,  repressing  the  utterance  of  Reform- 
ed religion  wherever  he  could  obtain  informa- 
tion of  it.  In  1550  he  seized  Adam  Wallace, 
a  plain  man  of  good  though  not  great  learn- 
ing, but  of  zealous  piety,  and  consigned  him  to 
the  flames.  To  have  got  Knox  into  his  hands 
would  have  furnished  a  sacrifice  the  pride  and 
boast  of  his  primacy.  The  Reformer  found  a 
shelter,  until  the  storm  blew  over,  with  Calvin 
in  Geneva. 

Adherents  of  Reformed  doctrines  in  Scot- 
land had  the  less  difficulty  in  concealing  their 
convictions  that  very  few  of  them  were  clergy- 
men, and  that  they  continued  to  attend  regu- 
larly at  their  parish  churches.  The  number 
also  of  those  dissatisfied  with  the  Romish  relig- 
ion was  now  such  that  they  mutually  respected 
each  other's  reticence.  It  had  not  yet  occurred 
to  them  that  their  change  of  opinion  was  to  de- 
mand separation  from  their  old  places  of  wor- 
ship. What  they  contemplated  was  reform,  not 
disruption — a  revival  of  pure  religion,  working 
in  and  for  the  whole,  not  for  a  few,  to  take  them 


ALLIANCE   WITH  FRANCE.  375 

away  by  themselves.  Nor  had  they  conceived 
of  more  than  one  Church.  To  keep  silence, 
when  speaking  might  do  harm,  was  fidehty  to 
the  cause.  The  few  clergy  of  their  persuasion 
could  not  conscientiously  do  so.  To  speak 
was  their  calling,  and  when  they  spoke  they 
must  speak  their  belief.  For  them  the  best 
course  was  to  withdraw,  for  a  time,  to  some 
country  where  they  could  labor  for  truth  with- 
out injuring  its  interests.  Some  of  them,  like 
Sub-prior  Winram,  whose  progress  was  not  so 
far  advanced,  could  say  all  that  they  felt  called 
to  say  and  retain  their  places  in  safety. 

From  the  reduction  of  the  castle  of  St.  An- 
drews until  1554,  such  was  the  course  of  the 
adherents  of  Reform  in  Scotland.  During  all 
that  time  Archbishop  Hamilton  believed  that, 
with  the  help  of  his  brother  the  regent,  he 
had  succeeded  in  repressing,  if  not  extinguish- 
ing, the  troublesome  heresy.  A  few  executions, 
as  he  and  his  bishops  thought,  had  intimidated 
its  leaders  and  sent  the  more  restless  into  exile. 

When  Mary  of  Lorraine  began  to  aim  at  the 
regency,  it  was  her  policy  to  secure  the  favor 
of  the  nation  as  widely  as  possible,  and  espe- 
cially of  that  party  whom  the  earl  of  Arran 
had  disobliged  in  changing  his  politics,  and 
who  had  ever  since  been  his  opponents.  She 
knew  well  that  the  believers  of  the  so-called 
new  doctrines  belonged  to  that  party  through 


37^  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

whom  his  elevation  to  the  regency  had  been 
secured.  They,  it  is  true,  had  also  advocated 
the  English  alliance  and  opposed  the  French. 
But  now  that  the  latter  had  succeeded,  and  her 
daughter  was  safely  in  the  care  of  her  kinsmen 
of  Lorraine,  there  was  nothing  to  be  feared  on 
that  question.  They  had  been  completely  alien- 
ated from  Arran.  By  a  little  judicious  manage- 
ment were  not  they  the  men  to  turn  the  balance 
in  her  favor  ?  Actually,  they  did  so.  She  was 
made  regent  in  opposition  to  the  policy  of  Arch- 
bishop Hamilton,  and  for  some  time  kept  on 
such  good  terms  with  those  who  had  so  effect- 
ually helped  her,  that  many  deemed  her  secret- 
ly disposed  to  their  doctrine.  In  those  circum- 
stances men  began  to  express  themselves  with 
greater  freedom,  and  refugees  from  persecu- 
tion in  England  sought  safety  in  Scotland,  and 
there  promoted  the  cause  for  which  they  suf- 
fered. 

Among  others,  two  Scotsmen  who  had  long 
been  exiles  for  relieion's  sake  returned  to  their 
native  land.  William  Harlaw,  employed  as  a 
preacher  in  England  under  Edward  VI.,  now 
ventured  to  come  back  and  preach  the  gospel 
to  his  countrymen.  In  Ayrshire  he  labored 
from  place  to  place  in  private  houses  until 
after  1560,  when  he  setded  in  St.  Cuthbert's, 
near  Edinburgh. 

John  Willock,  a  native   of  Ayrshire,  had   in 


ALLIANCE   WITH  FRANCE.  37/ 

early  youth  joined  the  Franciscan  order.  Soon 
afterward  converted  to  the  Reformed  faith,  he 
abjured  his  monkish  profession  and  fled  into 
England,  where,  however,  he  did  not  altogether 
escape  persecution  under  Henry  VIII.  Lat- 
terly, he  enjoyed  protection  as  chaplain  of  the 
duke  of  Suffolk.  On  the  accession  of  Queen 
Mary  he  left  England  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence at  Embden.  In  the  summer  of  1555  he 
was  sent  by  Anne,  duchess  of  Friesland,  to  the 
queen-regent  of  Scotland  on  some  commercial 
business.  While  residing  in  Edinburgh  he 
took  occasion  to  converse  fully  on  the  subject 
of  religion  with  those  who  for  that  purpose 
came  to  him  in  his  own  apartments.  Late  in 
the  autumn  of  that  year  he  returned  to  Emb- 
den, but  not  before  a  greater  workman  had 
taken  his  place  in   Edinburgh. 

John  Knox,  when  he  left  England  in  Janu- 
ary, 1554,  delayed  at  Dieppe  until  the  end  of 
February,  hesitating  wjiether.  to  go  farther  or 
return  and  encounter  the  multiplying  dangers. 
He  concluded  to  visit  the  churches  in  Switzer- 
land. It  was  a  hasty  visit.  By  the  beginning 
of  May  he  was  back  in  Dieppe,  where  news 
could  be  readily  got  from  Britain.  Though 
strongly  desirous  of  going  to  Berwick,  where 
his  wife  and  mother-in-law  were  residing,  he 
perceived  that  such  a  step  would  still  be  pre- 
mature,  and    Instead    of    it    went    to    Geneva. 


378  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

There  he  was  affectionately  received  by  Calvin, 
but  anxiety  about  the  state  of  his  native  coun- 
try made  him  restless.  He  returned  again  to 
Dieppe  in  July.  The  intelligence  was  discour- 
aging. Scotland  was  still  biding  her  time  in 
silence  —  England  was  sinking  deeper  and 
deeper  under  Romish  intolerance.  He  re- 
turned to  Geneva,  and  devoted  himself  to 
study,  especially  of  the  Hebrew  language,  with 
which  he  had  not  been  previously  acquainted. 
But  his  tranquil  pursuits  were  not  long  unin- 
terrupted. Invited  by  the  English  Protestant 
congregation  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main  to  be 
their  pastor,  and  strongly  advised  by  Calvin 
to  accept  the  place,  he  removed  thither  in  No- 
vember of  the  same  year.  The  congregation, 
though  harmonious  at  first,  upon  the  arrival  of 
other  exiles  from  England  divided  among  them- 
selves. The  new-comers  found  great  fault  with 
the  worship  because  it  was  not  conducted  after 
the  manner  prescribed  under  Edward  VI.  The 
other  section  resisted  the  attempt  to  force  a  lit- 
urgy upon  them.  No  man  could  please  both. 
Knox  left  them  in  March,  1555,  and  went  back 
to  Geneva,  where  he  settled  down  once  more  to 
his  biblical  studies.  They  were  not  again  inter- 
rupted through  the  rest  of  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer. In  August,  having  learned  of  the  change 
for  the  better  enjoyed  by  his  countrymen  un- 
der the  new  regent,  he  returned  to  Scotland. 


ALLIANCE   WITH  FRANCE.  3/9 

The  place  where  he  landed  was  near  Berwick. 
After  visiting  his  family  he  proceeded  to  Edin- 
burgh, where  he  arrived  while  Willock  was  still 
there. 

At  the  house  of  a  trusty  friend  and  fellow- 
Protestant,  James  Syme,  a  respectable  burgess 
of  the  capital  city,  he  continued  for  several  weeks 
to  preach  daily.  As  many  more  than  the  apart- 
ments could  accommodate  came  to  hear  him,  he 
divided  them  into  companies,  whom  he  address- 
ed successively  at  different  hours  through  the 
day  and  evening.  The  attendance  went  on  in- 
creasing, and  many  came  in  a  state  of  great 
spiritual  anxiety,  inquiring  what  they  should  do 
to  be  saved.  In  short,  he  found  a  profound 
revival  of  religion  quickening  about  him. 

At  that  juncture  a  new  step  of  progress  was 
ventured  on.  Attendance  upon  mass  now  ap- 
peared to  be  inconsistent  with  the  knowledge 
of  the  scriptural  way  of  salvation  possessed  by 
the  people.  At  a  conference  of  a  few  of  the 
chief  men — among  whom,  besides  Knox,  were 
John  Erskine  of  Dun,  an  earnest  and  experi- 
enced Christian,  and  William  Maitland  of  Leth- 
inorton,  a  younor-  statesman  destined  to  future 
celebrity — it  was  resolved  to  discontinue  at- 
tendance upon  the  Romish  service. 

Soon  afterward  Knox  was  persuaded  to  go 
with  Erskine  of  Dun  to  his  residence  in  Angus, 
w^here  he  remained  about  a  month.     During  all 


380  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

that  time  he  preached  every  day  to  audiences 
consisting  of  the  principal  people  of  the  neigh- 
borhood. He  then  went  south  to  Calder  House, 
where  he  was  kindly  entertained  by  Sir  James 
Sandilands,  and  preached  there  with  similar  re- 
sults. Among  his  hearers  were  Archibald  Camp- 
bell, Lord  Lorn,  afterward  earl  of  Argyll;  John, 
Lord  Erskine,  afterward  earl  of  Mar;  and  James 
Stewart,  prior  of  St.  Andrews,  afterward  earl  of 
Murray  and  regent  of  the  kingdom. 

Early  next  year  Knox  visited  Kyle,  that  dis- 
trict of  the  west  where  believers  of  Reformed 
faith  first  constituted  a  society  in  Scotland,  and 
where  they  were  now  quite  numerous.  There 
he  preached  in  many  places,  and  especially  in 
the  town  of  Ayr,  with  greater  publicity  than  be- 
fore. On  several  occasions,  both  in  the  east 
and  west,  he  also  administered  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per after  the  scriptural  example.  It  was  thus 
that  his  work  became  known  to  the  clergy. 
Until  now  they  had  not  been  aware  that  he 
was  in  the  country.  Attempts  were  forthwith 
made  to  have  him  arrested,  but  without  success. 
He  was  then  summoned  to  appear  before  a  con- 
vention in  Edinburgh,  May  15,  1556.  He  came 
to  the  city,  but  accompanied  by  a  number  of 
gentlemen  resolved  to  protect  him  from  injust- 
ice. In  those  circumstances  the  bishops,  espe- 
cially as  they  were  not  sure  what  side  the  regent 
might  take,  must  have  perceived  that  to  dispose 


ALLIANCE   WITH  FRANCE.  38 1 

of  him  without  a  full  discussion  of  the  doctrines 
In  question  between  them  was  impossible.  With 
such  an  adversary  public  debate  of  doctrine  was 
not  desirable.  Accordingly,  they  met  before  the 
time  appointed,  and  on  the  plea  of  some  inform- 
ality in  the  summons  set  the  convention  aside. 
During  the  ten  days  following  Knox  remained 
in  Edinburgh,  and  preached  to  larger  assem- 
blies than  before,  no  man  venturinor  to  hinder 
him. 

The  queen-regent  being  still  thought  to  be 
secretly  inclined  to  the  Reformation,  Knox 
wrote  her  a  letter  In  the  hope  of  eliciting  a 
declaration  to  that  effect.  It  turned  out  other- 
wise. She  took  occasion  to  declare  herself  on 
the  other  side  by  handing  the  letter  to  the  arch- 
bishop of  Glasgow,  with  a  contemptuous  remark. 
It  was  plain  that  she  had  now  leagued  her  inter- 
ests with  those  of  the  bishops.  New  severities 
were  in  prospect  for  the  Protestants.  New  ob- 
stacles were  to  be  thrown  in  their  way.  The 
evangelization  of  the  Scottish  Church  could  not 
be  effected  yet.  Things  were  not  ripe.  Pa- 
tience a  little  longer  would  be  better  than 
provocation. 

Knox  was  called  to  be  one  of  the  pastors  of 
the  English  congregation  at  Geneva,  and  re- 
turned thither  In  July,  1556,  having  first  re- 
visited his  various  preaching-places  In  Scot- 
land and  made  a  tour  into  Argyll,  reviving  in 


382  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

many  hearts   the   spirit  of  the    early  days   of 
lona. 

As  soon  as  he  was  gone  the  clergy  summon- 
ed him  to  appear  before  them,  passed  sentence 
aofainst  him  in  his  absence  and  burned  him  in 
effigy. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE   LORDS    OF   THE    CONGREGATION. 

THE  demand  for  ecclesiastical  reform  in 
Scodand  began  in  the  west  country,  espe- 
cially in  Ayrshire,  and  on  the  eastern  coast  at 
different  places  from  Berwick  to  Montrose,  with 
the  central  Lowlands  along  the  Forth  and  the 
Clyde.  Farther  to  the  south,  and  in  the  north- 
ern counties,  it  grew  up  more  slowly.  In  Ayr- 
shire the  Lollards  of  Kyle  had  formed  their 
society  before  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury. When  Wishart  went  into  that  district 
he  found  several  of  the  nobility  and  gentry 
prepared  to  defend  him.  Subsequently,  Har- 
law  and  Knox  successively  enjoyed  the  pro- 
tection of  the  earls  of  Cassilis  and  of  Glen- 
cairn.  In  1556,  Knox  was  taken  by  one  of  his 
Ayrshire  friends  to  the  earl  of  Argyll  at  his  res- 
idence of  Castle  Campbell,  where  the  Reformer 
remained  several  days  and  preached.  To  the 
doctrine  which  he  then  heard  the  aged  noble- 
man gave  his  cordial  assent,  and  remained 
attached  to  the  end  of  his  life.  His  son.  Lord 
Lorn,  was  already  one  of  its  adherents.      On 

383 


384  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  east,  the  earls  of  Angus  and  of  Morton, 
whatever  may  have  been  their  spiritual  interest 
in  its  truth,  chose  their  profit  or  their  loss  with 
its  fortune.  Others,  as  Sir  James  Sandilands 
(Lord  St.  John),  and  a  number  of  the  princi- 
pal gentry,  as  John  Erskine,  laird  of  Dun, 
were  early  its  friends  from  the  purest  mo- 
tives. They  were  all  well-educated,  well-in- 
formed men,  and  better  versed  in  Scripture 
than  were  the  Catholic  clergy  of  their  day. 

On  the  occasion  of  Knox's  visit  to  Dun,  in 
1556,  most  of  the  gentlemen  of  Mearns  pro- 
fessed their  attachment  to  the  Reformed  relig- 
ion by  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper  to- 
gether. They  also  entered  into  a  solemn  bond 
by  which  they  renounced  the  Romish  worship 
and  engaged  to  promote  the  pure  preaching 
of  the  gospel  as  Providence  might  enable  them. 

A  similar  covenant  was  drawn  up  next  year 
and  signed  at  Edinburgh,  on  the  3d  of  Decem- 
ber, by  the  Protestant  lords  generally  and  by 
many  others. 

After  the  second  removal  of  Knox  to  Ge- 
neva, the  Protestants  of  Scotland  remained 
faithful  to  their  profession,  but  carefully  avoid- 
ed all  action  which  might  give  ground  of  offence 
to  the  government.  In  their  relations  to  one 
another  they  followed  the  instructions  which 
Knox  had  left  them,  in  withdrawing  from  the 
Romish    service,    and    constituting   themselves 


THE   LORDS   OF   THE    CONGREGATION.         385 

into  congregations  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  with  some  degree  of  privacy.  For  a 
time,  destitute  of  ministers,  they  could  not  en- 
joy the  sacraments,  but  certain  persons  of  their 
number  were  chosen  to  read  the  Scriptures,  to 
exhort  and  to  pray  in  their  meetings.  They 
also  elected  elders  for  the  maintenance  of 
order  and  supervision  in  general,  and  deacons 
to  collect  and  distribute  alms  to  the  poor. 

During  the  war  with  England,  which  began 
in  1556  and  continued  through  next  year,  the 
Protestants  enjoyed  considerable  freedom,  the 
authorities  of  government  being  otherwise  oc- 
cupied than  in  harassing  their  own  people. 
Reformed  doctrine  made  great  progress  both 
as  to  the  number  of  converts  and  the  freedom 
of  their  profession.  Encouraged  by  these  cir- 
cumstances, some  of  them,  at  whose  head  were 
the  earl  of  Glencairn  and  the  Lords  Lorn,  Er- 
skine  and  James  Stewart,  wrote  to  Knox,  in- 
forming him  of  their  condition,  representing 
it  as  hopeful,  and  expressing  their  wish  that 
he  would  return  and  resume  his  ministrations 
among  them.  Me  accordingly  left  Geneva  in 
October,  1557,  but  upon  reaching  Dieppe  met 
with  other  news.  Things  had  assumed  a  more 
discouraging  aspect,  and  his  friends  no  longer 
felt  justified  in  advising  him  to  come  home. 
After  waiting  and  corresponding  with  them 
about  three  months,  he  became  convinced  that 

2b 


386  THE.    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  way  was  not  yet  prepared  for  him  to  do 
any  good  by  visiting  Scotland.  He  returned 
to  Geneva. 

The  cause  of  that  change  lay  in  the  concern 
with  which  the  Catholic  clergy  in  Scotland  had 
seen  the  growth  of  dissent  in  the  parishes. 
Protected  by  some  of  the  nobility,  Reformed 
priests  had  ventured  to  preach  in  different 
places  among  the  dissenting  congregations. 
The  vigilance  of  persecution  was  quickened 
throughout  the  country,  while  the  bishops  pre- 
vailed with  the  reofent  to  summon  for  trial  at 
Edinburgh  the  ministers  who  had  presumed 
to  preach  without  their  permission.  That  pro- 
cess, however,  was  stopped  by  the  appearance 
of  certain  gentlemen  from  the  west  with  a  re- 
monstrance, which  induced  the  regent  to  for- 
bid the  molestation  of  Protestants. 

The  meeting  of  the  nobles  and  barons  at- 
tached to  the  Reformation,  held  at  Edinburgh 
in  December,  1557,  recommended  certain  regu- 
lations to  all  their  people  in  common. 

It  was  thought  by  them  expedient,  for  the  then 
existing  exigency,  "  that  in  all  parishes  of  this 
realm  the  Common  Prayer  be  read  weekly  on 
Sunday  and  other  festival  days  publicly  in  the 
parish  churches,  with  the  lessons  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  conformed  to  the  order  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer.^     And  if  the  curates 

1  Their  first  substitute  for  the  mass  was  the  "  Book  set  forth  by  the 


THE   LORDS   OF   THE    CONGREGATION.         387 

of  the  parishes  be  quaHfied,  to  cause  them  to 
read  the  same ;  and  if  they  be  not,  or  if  they 
refuse,  that  the  most  quaHfied  in  the  parish  use 
and  read  the  same. 

"  Secondly :  It  is  thought  necessary  that  doc- 
trine, preaching  and  interpretation  of  Scriptures 
be  had  and  used  privately  in  quiet  houses,  with- 
out great  conventions  of  the  people  thereto,  un- 
til afterward  that  God  move  the  prince  to  grant 
public  preaching  by  faithful  and  true  ministers." 

The  former  of  these  resolutions  could  take  ef- 
fect, of  course,  only  where  the  residing  barons 
were  Protestant  and  the  people  either  of  the 
same  belief  or  disposed  to  comply.  But  of 
the  disposition  of  the  common  people  we  learn 
something  from  the  record  that  the  images  were 
stolen  away  from  the  churches  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  and  that  the  dissenting  conventions 
and  councils  were  held  with  "great  gravity  and 
closeness,"  uninterrupted  by  any  popular  dis- 
turbance. 

In  accordance  with  the  second,  the  Reformed 
preachers  were  taken  into  the  houses  of  the 
nobility  and  protected  as  chaplains.  This  was 
still  more  alarming  to  the  hierarchy  than  the 
former  practice  of  itinerancy.  Preachers  enter- 
tained in  the  families  of  the  principal  nobility  of 
the  kingdom  were  beyond  the  reach  of  perse- 

godly  King  Edward.'' — Letter  of  IVilliain  Kircaldy,  quoted  by  Froude, 
vol.  vii.  p.  III. 


388  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

cution.     Attempts  were  made  to  withdraw  that 
protection  from  them. 

The  earl  of  Argyll  had  invited  to  his  house 
and  retained  as  his  chaplain  John  Douglas,  a 
converted  Carmelite  friar,  and  employed  him  in 
preaching  among  his  people.  Relying  upon 
the  friendship  existing  between  the  Campbells 
and  Hamiltons,  the  primate  addressed  an  ap- 
peal to  the  earl,  urging,  in  a  very  courteous 
manner,  the  danger  of  harboring  such  men  as 
Douglas  in  their  heresy. 

Argyll's  reply  closed  all  avenue  of  hope  in 
that  quarter.  It  was  temperate  but  firm,  de- 
fended the  doctrine  preached  by  the  chaplain 
as  that  of  Scripture,  and  refused  to  dismiss  him. 
It  mentioned  the  topics  of  his  moral  instruction 
with  high  commendation,  in  language  which  the 
primate  could  not  fail  to  apply  to  his  own  scan 
dalous  life.  The  earl  added  that  if  his  lordship 
of  St.  Andrews  could  furnish  him  with  more 
such  preachers  as  Douglas,  he  would  gladly, 
and  with  thanks  to  his  lordship,  provide  them 
with  a  corporal  living.  "For  truly,"  said  he,  "I 
and  many  more  have  great  need  of  such  men. 
And  because  I  am  able  to  sustain  more  than 
one  of  them,  I  will  request  your  lordship  earn- 
estly to  provide  me  such  a  man.  For  the  har- 
vest is  great,  and  there  are  few  laborers." 

Foiled  in  that  attempt,  the  archbishop  turned 
his  rage  against  preachers  still  within  his  power. 


THE   LORDS   OF   THE   CONGREGATION.         389 

Walter  Milne,  an  aged  parish  priest,  condemned 
as  a  heretic  in  the  time  of  Cardinal  Beaton,  but 
who  had  escaped  and  continued  to  preach  in 
private  from  place  to  place,  was  now  discov- 
ered and  brought  to  trial  at  St.  Andrews.  He 
was  condemned,  and  burned  to  death  on  the 
28th  of  August,  1558.  As  the  flames  began  to 
rise  about  him  he  addressed  a  few  words  to  the 
spectators,  and  closed  thus:  "As  for  me,  I  am 
fourscore  and  two  years  old,  and  cannot  live 
long  by  course  of  nature ;  but  a  hundred  bet- 
ter shall  rise  out  of  the  ashes  of  my  bones.  I 
trust  in  God  I  shall  be  the  last  that  shall  suffer 
death  in  Scotland  for  this  cause." 

The  public  indignation  created  by  that  exe- 
cution exceeded  anything  of  the  kind  that  had 
gone  before.  People  who  had  hitherto  remain- 
ed quiet  and  submitted  to  prudential  limitations 
now  bade  defiance  to  ecclesiastical  terrors  and 
openly  joined  the  Protestants. 

Great  national  changes  do  not,  in  Scotland, 
proceed  upon  sudden  impulses.  Even  those 
which  have  been  precipitated  by  some  unex- 
pected event  will  be  found,  on  Inquiry,  to  have 
been  long  preparing  in  the  peaceful  agitation 
of  social  Intercourse.  Apparently,  the  Reform- 
ation was  the  work  of  a  few  months.  In  real- 
ity, it  was  the  growth  of  more  than  half  a 
century.  History  cannot  trace  all  the  course 
whereby   it  gradually  reached   maturity.      But 


390  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

from  the  burning  of  Patrick  Hamilton  to  that 
of  George  Wishart,  and  from  that  to  the  burn- 
ing of  Walter  Milne,  are  its  two  most  moment- 
ous stages.  Boys  and  youth,  startled  into  in- 
quiry by  the  first  of  those  events,  and  thereby 
enlisted  in  the  controversy  which  never  ceased 
through  all  the  intervening  time,  were  men  of 
middle  age,  fully  prepared  to  take  public  action 
promptly,  on  occasion  of  the  last. 

A  progress  is  obvious  in  the  sentiment  and 
demonstrations  made  as  the  change  went  on. 
The  surprise,  leading  to  earnest  inquiry,  in  the 
case  of  Patrick  Hamilton,  and  which  rose  to  a 
feeling  of  revenge  and  insurrection,  which  had 
to  be  reduced  by  arms,  in  that  of  George  Wish- 
art,  was  changed  on  the  burning  of  Walter 
Milne  into  a  national  purpose  of  revolution, 
waiting  only  a  proper  time  to  break  forth  into 
fact.  So  plainly  did  that  temper  make  itself 
understood  as  national  that  another  execution 
of  the  kind  was  never  ventured  on. 

Reformed  ministers  now  felt  safe  in  breaking 
over  the  limitations  to  which  they  had  deemed 
it  prudent  to  submit,  and  began  to  preach  in 
public  and  to  administer  the  sacraments.  Har- 
law,  Douglas,  Paul  Methven  and  others  thus 
boldly  dared  forthwith,  and  in  a  few  weeks  they 
were  joined  by  John  Willock,  once  more  re- 
turned from  Hanover.  A  new  invitation  had 
been  already  sent  to  John  Knox.     But  it  was 


THE   LORDS   OF   THE    CONGREGATION,         39 1 

slow  in  reaching  him,  and  because  of  other  ob- 
stacles he  did  not  arrive  in  Edinburgh  until  the 
2d  of  May  next. 

Meanwhile  the  Protestant  nobles  had  laid 
their  complaint  before  the  regent,  requesting 
that,  "by  her  authority  and  in  concurrence  with 
Parliament,"  she  would  "  restrain  the  violence 
of  the  clergy,  correct  the  flagrant  abuses  which 
prevailed  in  the  Church,  and  grant  to  them  and 
their  brethren  the  liberty  of  religious  instruc- 
tion and  worship,  at  least  according  to  a  re- 
stricted plan,  which  they  laid  before  her."  Af- 
ter repeated  experience  of  her  duplicity  and  un- 
reliableness,  they  had  been  brought  to  the  point 
of  open  war.  At  that  juncture  John  Knox  ar- 
rived. A  few  days  later,  the  Protestant  leaders, 
once  more  betrayed  by  the  regent,  felt  constrain- 
ed to  withdraw  from  her  government. 

Means  were  accordingly  taken  to  ascertain 
the  number  of  their  friends,  and  to  establish 
correspondence  and  the  strictest  bonds  of  obli- 
gation among  them.  Their  covenant  was  com- 
mitted to  persons  who  procured  subscriptions 
to  it  in  their  respective  districts.  Thus  all  the 
Reformed  in  the  country  learned  of  their  com- 
mon strength  and  secured  organization.  In  the 
language  of  their  covenant,  they  were  the  Con- 
gregation, and  the  noblemen,  who  so  far  had 
moved  at  their  head,  were  the  Lords  of  the 
Congregation. 


392  7^HE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

That  body  of  noblemen  Included  the  earls 
of  Argyll,  Glencalrn,  Monteith  and  Rothes, 
Lords  Ochiltree,  Boyd,  Ruthven,  and  the  prior 
of  St.  Andrews,  Lord  James  Stewart.  Some 
who  were  friendly  to  Reformed  religion  still 
abode  by  the  regent  or  remained  neutral. 
"A  large  proportion  of  the  lesser  barons  be- 
longed to  the  Congregation,"  especially  in  that 
belt  of  country  which  lies  diagonally  across  the 
kinofdom  from  Mearns  and  Fife  on  the  east  to 
Carrick  and  Galloway  on  the  west. 

Leadership  on  the  conservative  side  was  in 
the  hands  of  no  feeble  champion.  Men  ener- 
vated by  sloth  and  vicious  indulgence  occupied 
places  of  great  emolument  in  the  Church,  and 
ignorance  and  incapacity  prevailed  among  the 
clergy  high  and  low  ;  but  neither  ignorance  nor 
incapacity  were  charged  upon  the  primate.  He 
was  very  far  from  being  a  man  of  pure  morals, 
but  his  learning  was  respectable,  even  in  that 
noonday  of  accomplished  scholarship,  and  his 
natural  ability  more  than  common.  Had  the 
Romish  system  stood  in  fair  esteem  before  the 
people,  the  primacy  of  John  Hamilton  would 
have  evinced  no  signs  of  weakness.  It  was  his 
lot  to  contend  against  the  progress  of  his  time, 
to  stand  in  resistance  to  the  increasing  breadth 
and  light  of  the  national  convictions.  Conse- 
quently, his  most  energetic  measures  were  de- 
feated and  stamped  with  the  brand  of  inefficieh- 


THE   LORDS   OF  THE   CONGREGATION.         393 

cy  by  the  adverse  and  Irresistible  current  of 
events. 

John  Hamilton  was  the  natural  son  of  James, 
first  earl  of  Arran.  He  early  evinced  a  taste 
and  capacity  for  letters,  and  well  Improved  the 
facilities  afforded  him  for  their  culture.  He 
studied  at  Glasgow,  and  afterward  at  Paris, 
with  marked  success.  Made  abbot  of  Paisley 
In  1525,  he  continued  his  residence  In  France 
until  his  half-brother  was  elevated  to  the  re- 
gency. Next  year,  1543,  he  was  appointed 
keeper  of  the  privy  seal,  and  in  1545  made 
bishop  of  Dunkeld,  and  after  the  death  of  Car- 
dinal Beaton,  In  1546,  promoted  to  the  primacy. 

As  archbishop  he  entered  upon  office  with 
the  purpose  of  suppressing  the  Reformed  faith 
In  Scotland.  The  cautious  silence,  so  generally 
observed  by  persons  of  that  persuasion  after 
the  capture  of  St.  Andrews  and  the  exile  of 
their  ablest  leaders,  rendered  it  difficult  to  as- 
certain the  opinions  of  any  one  of  them  with 
sufficient  clearness  to  brinor  him  to  trial.     And 

o 

yet  many  suffered  great  hardships,  from  suspi- 
cions more  or  less  sustained,  under  his  rule, 
and  demonstrated  heresy  was  subjected  with- 
out mercy  to  the  death  penalty.  His  first  pub- 
lic act,  after  his  consecration,  was  the  trial  of 
Adam  Wallace,  arrested  by  his  orders  on  the 
charge  of  heresy. 

Wallace    was    accused    of    having    preached 


394  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

without  proper  license,  of  having  baptized 
one  of  his  own  children,  of  denying  the  ex- 
istence of  purgatory,  the  intercessory  power 
of  saints  and  transubstantiation  of  the  ele- 
ments in  the  Eucharist.  He  declared  that  he 
had  never  presumed  on  preaching,  and  the  con- 
trary was  not  proved ;  his  act  of  baptizing  was 
only  an  irregularity ;  the  valid  charges  were  the 
other  three.  On  all  of  them  he  defended  him- 
self from  the  Bible.  He  was  reproved  for  med- 
dling with  the  Bible.  That  was  a  book  which 
it  belonged  to  the  clergy  alone  to  read  and  un- 
derstand. Condemnation  was  passed  upon  him, 
and  he  was  burned  to  death  on  the  Castle  Hill 
of  Edinburgh,  as  if  the  example  were  to  read 
a  lesson  of  conformity  to  the  whole  nation. 

But  there  was  one  cause  of  complaint  in  the 
Church,  and  much  in  the  mouths  of  Reformers, 
which  could  not  be  encountered  in  that  way,  and 
touching  which  no  man  felt  the  necessity  of  si- 
lence. It  was  the  often-mentioned  licentious- 
ness and  arrogance  of  the  clergy,  in  which  some 
of  the  highest  dignitaries  were  the  most  notori- 
ously guilty.  It  had  long  been  a  ground  of  com- 
plaint. It  was  undeniable.  No  censure  had 
checked  it.  What  was  to  be  done  about  it? 
Archbishop  Hamilton  perceived,  that  his  order 
had  lost  ground  in  general  esteem,  and  the  few 
who  were  guiltless  of  the  common  vice  were 
the  most  humiliated  by  the  degradation. 


THE   LORDS   OF   THE   CONGREGATION.         395 

The  people  also  needed  instruction  of  a  na- 
ture to  counterbalance  the  Protestant  books, 
which  could  not  be  kept  out  of  the  country. 
Some  steps  must  be  taken  to  set  forth  Catholic 
doctrine  in  a  way  to  propitiate  public  favor. 

A  national  council  was  called  in  1549  to  take 
these  matters  seriously  into  consideration.  Ac- 
tion was  there  taken  in  regard  to  the  clergy,  ex- 
horting them  to  amend  their  lives,  and  specifi- 
cally prohibiting,  under  severe  penalties,  the 
vices  of  which  it  was  well  known  that  many 
of  them  were  guilty,  and  some  had  no  inten- 
tion of  reforming. 

"  Provision  was  also  made  for  preaching  to 
the  people  ;  for  teaching  grammar,  divinity  and 
canon  law  in  cathedrals  and  abbeys  ;  for  visit- 
ing and  reforming  monasteries,  nunneries  and 
hospitals ;  for  recalling  fugitives  and  apostates, 
whether  monks  or  nuns,  to  their  cloisters ;"  for 
silencinor  itinerant  sellers  of  indulo^ences  and 
relics ;  and,  in  general,  for  correcting  the 
alarming  multitude  of  abuses  which  had  crept 
into  the  Church  silently,  and  retained  their 
place  by  force  of  the  number  of  persons  in- 
terested in  them. 

But  there  were  other  evils,  regarded  as  the 
most  serious  of  all  by  readers  of  the  Bible,  and 
which  the  bishops  could  not  remove.  Those 
were  some  of  the  so-deemed  orthodox  tenets 
and  practices  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 


39^  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

On  such  points  conciliation  was  not  to  be  thought 
of.  Heresy  was  to  be  sought  out  and  perse- 
cuted with  increased  watchfulness  and  severity, 
and  heretical  books,  especially  "  poems  and  bal- 
lads against  the  Church  or  clergy,  were  to  be 
diligently  sought  after  and  burned." 

Measures  were  also  taken  to  bring  out  a  kind 
of  religious  literature  which  the  bishops  thought 
would  instruct  and  interest  the  people  and  help 
to  retain  them  in  allegiance  to  the  Catholic 
Church.  In  this  connection  the  Aberdeen 
Breviary,  in  course  of  preparation  perhaps 
many  years  before,  made  its  appearance,  with 
its  wonderful  tales  of  saints  and  their  miracles 
and  general  treasury  of  Roman  Catholic  exam- 
ples. It  was  printed  in  1550— far  too  late  for 
any  effect  but  to  arouse  the  ridicule  of  men  who 
had  learned  from  their  Bibles. 

Another  work,  sanctioned  by  the  national 
council  of  1 55 1,  was  a  catechism  for  popular 
instruction,  prepared  by  some  unknown  author, 
but,  from  the  sanction  conferred  upon  it  by  the 
primate,  called  *'  Archbishop  Hamilton's  Cate- 
chism." It  was  written  in  a  spirit  of  charity  and 
great  moderation,  presenting  Catholic  dogma  in 
the  least  offensive  way  to  persons  of  Protestant 
persuasion  ;  and  for  that  reason  attributed,  with 
strong  probability,  to  Sub-prior  Winram  of  St. 
Andrews.  It  appeared  in  a  volume  of  four 
hundred  and  forty  pages,  small  quarto,  hand- 


THE   LORDS   OF   THE   CONGREGATION.         397 

somely  printed  in  Old  English  black-letter  at 
the  expense  of  the  archbishop,  and  bearing  date 
St.  Andrews,  August  29,  1552,  containing  in- 
structions on  the  Commandments,  Seven  Sac- 
raments, Creed,  Lord's  Prayer,  Magnificat  and 
Ave  Maria ;  it  was  in  the  Scottish  dialect,  and 
designed  to  be  read  to  the  people  in  church  by 
portions.  ''  As  much  as  would  occupy  half  an 
hour"  was  to  be  read  from  the  pulpit  every 
Sunday  and  holiday  with  a  loud  voice,  clearly, 
distinctly,  impressively,  solemnly,  by  the  rector, 
vicar  or  curate  in  his  surplice  or  stole. 

For  a  similar  purpose,  but  as  much  inferior  in 
merit  as  it  was  smaller  in  size,  was  the  pamphlet 
issued  by  the  national  council  of  1559.  Es- 
pecially designed  to  be  read  as  a  preparation 
for  receiving  the  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist,  it 
set  forth  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  in 
what  was  thought  to  be  a  popular  way.  It  con- 
sisted of  only  four  pages  in  black-letter,  and 
was  sold  for  twopence  Scots.  The  Reform- 
ers greeted  it  with  derision,  and  dubbed  it  the 
*' Two-penny  Faith." 

All  such  efforts  for  the  inner  reform  and  for- 
tifying of  the  Romish  cause  came  too  late  for 
success.  The  dissentine  Reformation  which 
they  were  designed  to  supersede  had  got  too 
much  headway,  covered  too  much  ground,  to 
be  effectually  encountered  within  such  narrow 
bounds.      On   the  subject   of  clerical   morality 


398  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

not  much  could  be  done  with  any  reformatory 
effect.  Who  was  to  inflict  the  penalty?  who 
to  throw  the  first  stone  ?  The  bishops  were 
themselves  guilty,  and  the  primate  most  of  all. 
Inner  reform  of  the  Church  had  failed.  Recall 
of  Protestants  was  now  hopeless.  On  their 
part,  rational  conviction  had  been  set  on  fire 
by  the  cruelties  of  persecution  ;  return  to  their 
rejected  superstitions  was  out  of  the  question. 

The  principal  business  of  the  council  of  1559 
was  to  consider  some  suggestions  offered  by 
certain  laymen  attached  to  the  Church.  The 
changes  which  they  urged  were  in  discipline 
and  conduct.  Down  to  that  date  no  improve- 
ment had  taken  place.  Nor  had  the  action  of 
that  council  any  other  effect  than  once  more, 
by  rebuking,  to  acknowledge  the  existence 
of  long-censured  iniquity,  and  to  drive  many 
churchmen  into  the  ranks  of  the  Reformers. 
It  was  the  last  council  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
establishment  of  Scotland. 

All  the  primate's  efforts  to  reconcile  heretics 
had  proved  fruitless,  and  his  burning  of  some 
of  them,  instead  of  intimidating  the  rest,  had 
only  provoked  alienation  and  wrath.  The 
weapons  he  wielded  crumbled  in  his  grasp. 
Still,  though  worsted,  he  never  surrendered, 
but  fought  for  his  ground,  inch  by  inch,  to  the 
end.  One  of  his  next  public  acts  was  in  Par- 
liament, in  1560,  to  vote  in  a  similarly  ineffect- 


THE   LORDS   OF   THE   CONGREGATION.         399 

ive  way  against  the  Reformation.  He  survived 
the  crisis  of  that  great  revohition  of  faith,  and 
saw  himself  subjected  to  some  Httle  experience 
of  that  restraint  he  had  so  often  laid  upon  oth- 
ers. In  1563  he  was  brought  to  trial  before  the 
Judiciary  Court  of  Edinburgh  for  hearing  auric- 
ular confession  and  celebrating  mass,  and  pun- 
ished by  imprisonment.  But  again  he  came 
up  on  the  winning  side  by  the  favor  of  Queen 
Mary.  For  a  time  he  was  one  of  her  privy 
council,  and  held  a  commission  under  the  great 
seal  restoring  jurisdiction  in  the  probate  of 
testaments  and  other  things  pertaining  to  the 
spiritual  court.  He  opposed  the  act  of  Mary 
in  leaving  her  kingdom,  and,  it  is  said,  urgently 
remonstrated  with  her  to  the  last. 

Under  the  succeeding  regency  Hamilton  was 
denounced  as  a  traitor.  After  hidlnpf  for  some 
time  among  his  friends,  he  took  refuge  in  the 
castle  of  Dumbarton,  which  was  then  held  for 
France.  It  was  taken  by  the  national  forces 
on  the  2d  of  April,  1571.  The  ex-archbishop 
was  carried  a  prisoner  to  Stirling,  and  on  the 
ground  of  complicity  in  the  murder  of  Lord 
Darnley,  but  in  virtue  of  a  previous  attainder 
by  act  of  Parliament,  was  there.  In  his  episco- 
pal robes,  hanged  over  the  batdements  of  the 
castle  on  the  6th  of  the  month. 

Thus  died  the  last  primate  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  establishment  In  Scotland. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MARY  OF  LORRAINE   AND    THE   PEOPLE. 

THE  second  wife  of  James  V.  survived  him 
seventeen  years  and  six  months.  A  daugh- 
ter of  Claude  of  Lorraine,  first  duke  of  Guise, 
and  sister  of  Francis,  the  second  duke,  and  of 
the  cardinal  Charles  of  Lorraine,  she  partook 
of  the  uncommon  ability  of  her  family,  in  that 
its  best  day.  With  a  degree  of  liberality  to- 
ward Protestants  which  her  brothers  never  pos- 
sessed, she  was  equally  with  them  attached  to 
the  Catholic  Church.  Her  humane  disposition 
and  well-balanced  good  sense,  while  allowed 
to  act  freely,  secured  her  popularity  in  a  land 
which  never  loved  the  rule  of  a  foreiener.  The 
misleading  bias  of  her  character  was  the  ami- 
able one  of  strong  attachment  to  her  brothers, 
whereby  she  was  disposed  to  put  their  judg- 
ment above  her  own,  and  that  part  of  her  edu- 
cation which  led  her  to  undervalue  the  truth. 
From  the  death  of  her  husband,  in  1542, 
until  her  appointment  to  the  regency,  in  1554, 
Mary  of  Lorraine  held  no  official  place  in  the 
government  of  Scotland  ;  but  her  own  personal 
place  and  character  gradually  vindicated  for  her 

4U0 


MARY  OF  LORRAINE   AND    THE   PEOPLE.     4OI 

an  influence  in  its  affairs  which  increased  after 
the  death  of  Cardinal  Beaton.  And  when  her 
daughter  had  been  betrothed  to  the  heir  of  the 
throne  of  France  the  ambition  of  her  kindred 
was  sustained  by  that  of  the  French  court  in 
seeking  for  her  a  constitutional  authority. 

That  was  a  proud  day  for  Claude  of  Lor- 
raine. While  his  oldest  son  was  risinor  to  the 
position  of  the  first  subject  of  France,  and  his 
younger  son  just  created  cardinal  at  the  age  of 
twenty- two,  his  granddaughter,  born  queen  of 
Scotland,  was  betrothed  to  the  future  kingr  of 
France,  with  the  prospect  of  uniting  both  king- 
doms, if  not  also  England,  under  their  rule  and 
in  her  right.  Claude  did  not  live  to  see  the 
end  of  those  splendid  and  not  unreasonable 
expectations,  nor  to  know  the  depths  of  calam- 
ity in  which  some  of  them  set.  The  next  fif- 
teen years  were  the  summit  of  prosperity  to  the 
house  of  Guise — a  prosperity  which  in  its  best 
estate  had  more  of  hope  than  fruition. 

The  queen-dowager  of  Scodand  understood 
well  the  party  differences  between  the  Catho- 
lics and  Reformed.  It  was  the  same  contro- 
versy in  which  her  brothers  were  so  earnestly 
engaged  in  her  native  land.  And  it  was  not 
difficult  to  see  how  the  regent  Arran  had  lost 
the  confidence  of  one  of  those  pardes  without 
securing  that  of  the  other.  Her  policy,  as  well 
as  natural  disposition,  guarded  her  against  his 

26 


402  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

errors.  The  head  of  the  house  of  Hamilton 
was  nearest  heir  to  the  Scottish  throne  in  the 
case  of  her  daughter's  death  without  children. 
But  the  leading  mind  in  that  house  was  not  the 
ex-regent,  but  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrews. 
To  counteract  him,  operating  through  and  sus- 
tained by  the  clergy,  it  became  her  policy  to 
strengthen  her  adherents  among  the  Catholic 
laity  by  a  moderate  toleration  of  the  Protest- 
ants. Nor  was  it  indispensable  to  alienate  the 
clergy  as  a  whole.  There  were  some  among 
them  who  could  take  little  interest  in  the  am- 
bition of  the  Hamiltons.  The  position  of  Mary 
of  Lorraine,  during  the  first  five  years  of  her 
administration,  was  strong  in  the  good-will  of 
the  people,  and,  unintentionally  on  her  part,  of 
of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  Reformation. 

Mistaking  her  motives,  the  Protestant  lead- 
ers expected  too  much  in  hoping  to  bring  her 
over  to  their  cause.  Knox's  letter,  written  to 
her  with  that  view  in  a  respectful  but  author- 
itative manner,  provoked  an  indignant  remark 
and  the  assuming  of  an  attitude  to  repel  all 
hope  of  her  conversion.  They  became  alarm- 
ed, and,  from  apprehension  that  premature  haste 
might  seriously  prejudice  their  cause,  adopted 
those  measures  of  caution  already  mentioned. 
But  for  two  years  longer  whatever  hardships 
they  suffered  were  not  inflicted  by  the  regent. 

Of  one  mistake,  however,  she  never  saw  the 


MARY  OF  LORRAINE   AND    THE    PEOPLE.     403 

danger  until  too  late.  She  persisted  In  the 
practice  of  employing  Frenchmen  In  places  of 
power  and  emolument  In  the  state.  And  the 
attempt,  by  a  new  system  of  taxation,  to  keep 
In  pay  a  standing  army,  Instead  of  relying  upon 
the  patriotism  of  the  nobility,  although  defeat- 
ed, was  followed  by  accepting  from  France  a 
body-guard  of  foreigners. 

It  had  already  become  a  settled  purpose  of 
the  Guises  and  the  court  of  France  to  secure  the 
subjection  of  Scotland  to  their  Interests,  if  not 
directly  to  French  dominion.  The  marriage 
of  Mary  Stuart  with  the  dauphin  took  place  on 
the  24th  of  April,  1558.  Among  the  prelimi- 
naries It  was  subsequently  discovered  that  the 
young  queen  had  been  persuaded,  by  her  kins- 
men, to  sign  certain  papers  conveying  her  king- 
dom to  the  royal  family  of  France.  Her  hus- 
band was  to  be  king  of  Scotland.  The  com- 
missioners sent  by  the  Estates  of  Scotland  to 
represent  their  country  in  the  nuptial  solemni- 
ties were  required  to  send  for  the  Scottish  re- 
galia, that  the  coronation  might  be  complete.. 
They  declined.  In  other  respects  they  were 
also  offended  with  the  evidences  of  a  spirit  of 
usurpation.  Upon  their  way  home  three  of 
their  number,  Lords  Cassllls  and  Rothes  and 
Bishop  Reld  of  Orkney,  were  taken  suddenly 
111  and  died  at  Dieppe.  The  remaining  three, 
Lord  James  Stewart,  Erskine  of  Dun  and  the 


404  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

archbishop  of  Glasgow,  when  making  the  re- 
port before  the  Estates,  presented  also  a  re- 
quest, in  the  name  of  the  queen,  that  the 
"crown  matrimonial"  should  be  conferred  on 
her  husband.  It  was  granted,  but  with  the 
limitation  that  it  was  to  be  merely  a  compli- 
ment, and  to  continue  during  the  marriage 
alone. 

An  accidental  wound  in  a  tournament  car- 
ried off  Henry  II.,  July  lo,  1559,  and  Francis 
II.  and  Mary  became  king  and  queen  of  France 
and  Scotland.  They  had  already  assumed  the 
title  to  England ;  for  Mary  Tudor  had  died  the 
preceding  year,  and  Mary  Stuart,  in  the  eyes 
of  Catholics,  was  the  only  heir  to  the  English 
throne.  In  the  mental  and  bodily  feebleness 
of  Francis  II.,  as  well  as  his  immature  age, 
being  only  sixteen,  the  duke  Francis  of  Lor- 
raine took  the  management  of  public  affairs, 
leagued  with  his  brother  the  cardinal  and  the 
queen-dowager,  Catherine  de  Medici. 

To  the  success  of  their  plans  the  Guises  held 
that  the  destruction  of  Protestantism  was  of 
first  importance.  A  frightful  persecution  was 
commenced  in  France.  Protestantism  alone 
stood  between  them  and  the  throne  of  Eng- 
land for  their  niece,  for  none  save  Protestants 
admitted  the  legitimacy  of  Elizabeth.  A  united 
Catholic  France,  with  a  united  Catholic  Scot- 
land, upon  invasion  of  England  would  be  join- 


MARY  OF  LORRAINE   AND    THE   PEOPLE.     405 

ed  by  the  Catholics  of  that  country,  still  a  very 
large  minority  of  the  population  ;  and  all  three 
kingdoms  were  to  be  subjects  of  the  one  crown. 
It  was  certainly  a  glorious  plan,  and  not  im- 
practicable, as  it  appeared  to  the  daring  Fran- 
cis of  Lorraine  and  his  ambitious  cardinal  bro- 
ther. 

Intimation  was  forthwith  communicated  to  the 
queen-regent  of  Scotland  of  the  new  scheme. 
Her  judgment  rejected  it,  her  feelings  revolted 
from  it.  She  remonstrated.  By  what  method 
of  persuasion  we  know  not,  her  reluctance  was 
overcome  and  her  whole  government  changed. 
Friendship  was  now  sought  with  the  Scottish 
primate,  and  the  best  relations  with  the  Cath- 
olic clergy.  Protestants  were  ordered  to  wor- 
ship according  to  the  rites  of  the  Roman  Church. 
That  order  was  to  take  effect  immediately  upon 
the  ensuing  Easter  of  1560.  Protestant  dele- 
gates waited  upon  her,  and  ventured  to  re- 
monstrate on  the  ground  that  their  ministers 
preached  the  truth  and  peacefully.  She  replied 
that  ''  they  should  be  banished  out  of  Scotland, 
albeit  they  preached  as  truly  as  ever  did  St. 
Paul."  When  her  former  promises  were  ad- 
duced, her  answer  was  that  "it  became  not  sub- 
jects to  burden  their  princes  with  promises  fur- 
ther than  they  please  to  keep  them." 

About  the  same  time,  the  Reformed  worship 
was  set  up  and  very  numerously  attended  in  the 


406  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

town  of  Perth.  The  regent  sent  orders  to  the 
provost  to  suppress  it,  and  also  commissioned 
persons  to  persuade  the  people  of  Montrose 
and  Dundee  to  observe  Easter  in  the  pre- 
scribed Romish  manner.  For  disobedience  the 
preachers  were  summoned  to  appear  before  the 
privy  council  at  Stirling  on  the  loth  of  May, 
1560.  A  number  of  gentlemen  resolved  to  ac- 
company them  without  arms,  as  peaceful  men, 
intending  only  to  give  their  confession  together 
with  their  preachers.  Erskine  of  Dun  went  on 
before  them  to  inform  the  regent  of  their  inten- 
tion. He  soon  reported  to  them  her  assurance 
that,  if  they  would  disperse,  the  citations  should 
be  withdrawn.  The  assembly  complied,  and 
many  of  them  returned  to  their  homes.  But 
the  promise  was  not  kept.  When  the  appoint- 
ed day  arrived  the  citations  were  read  out,  and 
the  persons  cited,  not  appearing,  were  outlawed 
and  proclaimed  rebels.  Erskine,  indignant  that 
he  should  have  been  made  the  agent  of  the 
regent's  perfidy,  withdrew  from  her  service. 

This  was  on  the  loth  of  May.  Eight  days 
before,  John  Knox  had  landed  at  Leith,  and  on 
the  day  after  the  preachers  were  outlawed  he 
preached  in  Perth.  He  now  found  the  nation 
ripe  for  revolution  in  religion,  and  boldly  open- 
ed the  attack  upon  the  idolatry  of  the  Romish 
Church.  By  accident,  during  the  interval  of 
worship,  while  the  congregation  was  absent,  a 


MARY  OF  LORRAINE   AND    THE   PEOPLE.     407 

mob  was  excited  which  broke  down  the  images 
in  church  and  destroyed  the  monasteries. 

The  regent  was  enraged,  and  threatened  to 
lay  the  city  in  ruins.  The  Protestants  once 
more  assembled  to  protect  their  ministers. 
An  army  of  seven  thousand  marched  against 
them.  They  were  not  half  that  number.  But 
a  few  days  before,  some  of  their  circular  letters 
had  been  carried  away  south-west  into  Kyle 
and  Cunningham,  and  came  into  the  hands  of 
the  earl  of  Glencairn,  who,  together  with  a 
large  number  of  his  neighbors,  convened  at 
the  church  of  Craigie.  After  some  diversity 
of  opinion  had  been  expressed,  the  earl  rose 
and  said,  "  Let  every  man  serve  his  conscience. 
I  will,  by  God's  grace,  see  my  brethren  in  St. 
Johnston  [Perth].  Yea,  albeit  never  a  man 
should  accompany  me,  I  will  go,  and  if  it  were 
only  with  a  pick  upon  my  shoulder,  for  I  had 
rather  die  with  that  company  than  live  after 
them."  The  whole  assembly  resolved  to  go 
with  him,  and  their  number  soon  increased. 
The  earl  reached  Perth  at  the  head  of  two 
thousand  five  hundred  men,  of  whom  twelve 
hundred  were  cavalry,  and  with  them  the 
preacher  John  Willock.  The  numbers  on 
each  side  of  the  conflict  were  now  more  fair- 
ly matched.  The  regent  consented  to  a  treaty, 
of  which  the  conditions  were  that  if  the  people 
of  the  town  were  not  troubled  for  the  late  change 


408  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

of  religion  and  attack  on  the  mcyiasteries,  and 
if  the  Reformation  were  allowed  to  go  forward, 
and  if  the  French  garrisons  were  removed,  she 
should  be  obeyed  by  them  in  all  things. 

The  terms  were  agreed  to,  and  next  day  the 
Congregation  departed  from  Perth.  No  sooner 
were  they  gone  than  the  regent  entered  with 
her  troops  and  priests,  in  utter  disregard  of  the 
agreement.  The  earl  of  Argyll  and  Lord  James 
Stewart,  disgusted  with  her  untruth,  withdrew 
from  her  counsels,  and  with  them  followed  the 
Lord  Ruthven,  the  earl  of  Monteith  and  others. 

The  Congregation  reassembled,  and,  with  Ar- 
gyll and  Lord  James  at  their  head,  occupied  St. 
Andrews.  A  force  was  sent  from  Linlithgow  to 
expel  them.  But  they  were  too  strong  to  sub- 
mit to  that  process.  The  result  was  another 
treaty,  under  which  the  regent  withdrew  her 
troops  to  the  south  of  the  Forth,  promising  to 
send  a  commissioner  to  treat  with  the  Lords  of 
the  Congregation  more  fully.  The  commissioner 
never  came.  Her  aim  was  to  gain  time  until  an 
army  should  arrive  from  France. 

The  Reformers  marched  to  Edinburo^h,  which 
they  entered  without  resistance.  The  regent 
had  retreated  to  Dunbar.  Subsequently,  when 
many  of  them  had  scattered  to  their  homes,  she 
came  back,  and  with  her  French  troops  enforced 
a  compromise  whereby  the  two  parties  occupied 
the  city  together  in  peace. 


MARY  OF  LORRAINE  AND    THE   PEOPLE.     409 

In  a  short  time  the  expected  French  rein- 
forcements arrived  and  fortified  themselves  in 
Leith.  They  were  joined  by  the  regent,  who 
by  that  time  had  ahenated  the  confidence  of 
her  wisest  adherents.  She  was  now  deserted 
by  the  duke  of  Chatelherault,  the  earl  of  Ar- 
ran  and  Maitland  of  Lethineton. 

Meanwhile,  the  Lords  had  formed  a  treaty 
with  Queen  Elizabeth.  When  the  French  were 
commencing  their  work  of  conquest  by  ravag- 
ing the  coast  of  Fife,  an  English  squadron  en- 
tered the  Forth.  The  French  had  hastily  to 
betake  themselves  to  their  camp,  which  was 
soon  besieged  by  the  united  English  and  Scot- 
tish forces. 

Mary  of  Lorraine,  suffering  under  sickness, 
was  removed  to  the  castle  of  Edinburgh,  where 
she  received  the  utmost  respect  and  attention. 
Aware  that  her  disease  was  incurable,  she  had  a 
conference  with  some  of  the  Reformed  lead- 
ers— Argyll,  Glencairn,  the  Lords  James  Stew- 
art and  Marichal — to  whom  she  expressed  deep 
regret  for  the  course  she  had  latterly  pursued 
and  the  condition  to  which  things  had  been  re- 
duced, but  plead  that  the  blame  had  not  orig- 
nated  with  herself  Her  remainine  hours  were 
given  to  concerns  of  religion,  in  which  she  will- 
ingly held  a  conversation  of  some  length  with 
the  Reformed  preacher,  John  Willock.  She 
died  on  the  19th  of  June,  1560,  while  the  siege 


4IO  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

of  Leith  was  still  going  on.  The  faults  of  her 
last  few  months  obscured  to  all  future  time  the 
wisdom  of  more  than  as  many  years. 

A  populace,  no  matter  how  intelligent  indi- 
vidually, as  a  whole  cannot  understand  them- 
selves without  an  interpreter,  nor  move  to  any 
wise  and  permanent  result  without  a  leader. 
To  be  a  true  leader  a  man  must  fully  under- 
stand and  be  imbued  with  the  purpose  of  the 
people,  and  possessed  of  ability  to  expound  it 
to  themselves  and  to  others,  and  to  regulate 
their  impulses  prudently.  He  may  be  one  of 
superior  rank,  but  better  for  his  calling  is  it  to 
be  one  of  themselves.  He  may  be  elected  by 
them  or  moved  from  within  himself,  but,  in  eith- 
er case,  what  he  is  sustained  by  them  in  effect- 
ing for  them  must  be  taken  as  the  exponent 
of  their  purpose. 

When  we  find  the  poems  of  Sir  David  Lind- 
say enjoying  a  popularity  unprecedented  in  that 
country,  we  must  infer  that  they  gave  expres- 
sion to  sentiments  entertained  by  a  numerous 
portion  of  the  Scottish  people.  Although  those 
of  Dunbar  had  less  extensive  circulation,  yet, 
in  as  far  as  they  treated  the  same  topics  in  a 
similar  spirit,  they  met  the  same  favor.  The 
public  sentiment,  thus  signified,  may  not  yet 
have  created  a  political  party,  but  it  is  evident 
that  there  was  something  in  it  which  a  daring 
and  skillful  leader  miorht  make  use  of  to  that 


MARY  OF  LORRAINE   AND    THE   PEOPLE.     4I I 

end.  Such  a  leader  was  slow  in  coming  to  the 
front. 

In  the  Scottish  Reformation  the  first  conspic- 
uous men  were  scholars,  preachers  of  the  gos- 
pel, humble,  modest,  retiring  and  averse  to 
political  agitation.  Even  the  statesmen  who 
first  belonged  to  it,  such  as  Balnavis,  were,  in 
as  far  as  they  were  Reformers,  more  devotional 
than  polemic.  In  its  early  days  the  Scottish 
Reformation  was  purely  religious  and  moral, 
and  avoided  all  complication  with  politics.  The 
few  noblemen  who  availed  themselves  of  its 
support  for  attainment  of  their  own  ends  took 
that  step  at  a  later  time,  when  its  power  was 
more  pronounced.  Yet,  though  not  forming  a 
political  party,  the  men  whose  religious  views 
determined  the  election  of  a  regent  after  the 
death  of  James  V.,  and  that  in  opposition  to 
the  plans  of  Cardinal  Beaton,  must  be  recog- 
nized as  a  power  in  the  state.  Mary  of  Lor- 
raine recognized  them  as  such,  and  for  years 
courted  their  favor  to  elevate  and  sustain  her- 
self in  office. 

And  yet  there  is  a  way  of  expression,  inar- 
ticulate but  unmistakable,  sometimes  adopted 
by  the  people  themselves.  The  attacks  upon 
monastic  houses,  made  in  1543  at  Dundee  and 
various  other  places,  were  not  the  work  of  rob- 
bers, but  of  Christian  people  in  detestation  of 
monkish    immorality,    as    American    "  vigilance 


412  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

committees "  sometimes  clear  out  gamblers, 
debauchees  and  other  corrupters  of  public 
morals.  They  were  acts  of  reformation  after 
the  crude,  impulsive  way  of  popular  justice. 
When  instructed  by  their  wiser  men  in  the 
necessity  of  law-abiding  quiet  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  in  order  to  success,  all  outbreak  of 
violence  was  avoided  for  years  ;  for  in  the  death 
of  Cardinal  Beaton  the  public  had  no  hand.  Re- 
ligious knowledge  spread  rapidly  between  the 
death  of  James  V.  and  the  burning  of  Walter 
Milne.  The  act  of  Parliament  passed  in  the 
beginning  of  that  interval,  allowing  people  of 
all  classes  to  read  the  Bible,  was  itself  an  act 
of  reformation,  and  fertile  of  all  other  things 
rightly  pertaining  to  the  cause.  When  Parlia- 
ment afterward  repealed  that  act,  it  could  not 
withdraw  the  Bibles ;  it  only  constrained  the 
people  to  hold  them  in  closer  keeping  and  to 
value  them  more  highly. 

The  first  leaders  to  give  the  Reformation  a 
political  place  in  the  land  were  the  noblemen 
who  latterly  became  known  as  the  Lords  of 
the  Congregation.  But  such  was  the  progress 
of  Protestant  persuasion  in  that  interval  that 
when  the  Lords  sent  out  the  Covenant  for  sub- 
scription, they  received  the  most  definite  evi- 
dence that  the  greater  part  of  the  people  of 
Scotland  were  in  favor  of  it. 

The  burning  of  Walter  Milne  in  April,  1558, 


MARY   OF  LORRAINE   AND    THE   PEOPLE.     413 

and  subsequently  the  queen-regent's  change  of 
poHcy,  and  reckless  deceit  in  her  dealings  with 
the  lords,  causing  them  successively  to  with- 
draw from  her  court,  as  well  as  the  knowledge 
of  their  own  numerical  strength,  rapidly  re- 
moved the  weio^ht  of  those  restraints  to  which 
the  Protestant  people  had  long  submitted.  The 
next  few  months  saw  many  cases  of  popular 
outbreak,  though  not  a  single  one  of  bloodshed 
or  personal  injury.  Idols,  not  men,  were  the 
objects  of  violence.  Biblical  instruction,  en- 
forced and  applied  by  their  preachers,  had  well 
enlightened  the  congregations  on  the  nature  of 
image- worship.  They  wanted  no  more  of  it. 
Yet  they  could  not  go  to  church  without  hav- 
ing their  convictions  insulted  and  their  devo- 
tions disturbed  with  everywhere-recurring  ob- 
jects of  idolatry.  Those  objects  of  idolatrous 
worship  were  removed  by  the  Christian  people. 
Who  was  to  be  injured  by  it?  Congregations 
who  preferred  them  of  course  did  not  remove 
them.  It  was  the  most  harmless  kind  of  icono- 
clasm — people  themselves  destroying  their  own 
idols  which  they  had  formerly  worshiped,  and 
that  without  hurt  to  their  priestly  custodians. 
The  images  soon  disappeared  from  the 
churches  in  most  parts  of  the  country  quietly. 
In  some  of  the  larcre  cities  the  chano-e  created 
more  sensation.  At  Edinburgh  the  great  idol 
of  the  cathedral  church  of  St.  Giles  was  taken 


414  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

out  and  drowned  in  the  North  Loch,  and  after- 
ward burned.  The  priests  were  in  dismay,  and 
urged  the  bishops  to  bring  the  sacrilegious  per- 
petrators to  punishment.  The  bishops  appHed 
to  the  regent.  She  was  not  yet  prepared  to 
disoblige  either  party,  but  consented  to  sum- 
mon the  Protestant  preachers  to  trial  for  it. 
The  preachers  complied,  and  with  them  came 
many  of  their  friends.  The  bishops  were 
alarmed,  and  procured  a  proclamation  that  all 
who  had  come  to  the  city  without  orders  should 
forthwith  repair  to  the  English  border,  and  re- 
main there  fifteen  days.  It  happened  that  a 
large  number  of  those  present  were  west-coun- 
try men,  who  that  very  day  had  returned  from 
service  on  the  border,  and  who  recognized  no 
right  in  any  quarter  to  send  them  back.  Indig- 
nant at  the  unreasonable  proclamation,  they 
made  their  way  to  the  apartment  where  the 
regent  and  the  bishops  sat  in  council.  In  very 
plain  terms  they  made  complaint  of  the  injus- 
tice done  to  them  who  had  been  obedient  in 
all  things  lawful.  One  of  their  number,  James 
Chalmers,  stood  forward  as  spokesman,  and 
boldly  charged  their  grievances  upon  the  bish- 
ops and  the  primate  there  present,  and  added, 
"  We  vow  to  God  we  shall  make  a  day  of  it. 
They  oppress  us  and  our  tenants  for  feeding 
of  their  idle  bellies.  They  trouble  our  preach- 
ers, and  would  murder  them  and  us.     Shall  we 


AfA/^y   OF  LORRAINE   AND    THE   PEOPLE.     415 

suffer  this  any  longer?  Nay,  madam,  It  shall 
not  be."  And  every  man  put  on  his  steel 
bonnet. 

''  My  joys,  my  hearts,  what  ails  you  ?"  said 
the  queen  soothingly.  "  Me  means  no  evil  to 
you,  nor  to  your  preachers.  The  bishops  shall 
do  you  no  wrong.  Ye  are  all  my  loving  sub- 
jects. Me  knows  nothing  of  this  proclamation. 
The  day  of  your  preachers  shall  be  discharged, 
and  me  will  hear  the  controversy  that  is  be- 
twixt the  bishops  and  you.  They  shall  do  you 
no  wrong."  Then  turning  to  the  bishops,  "  My 
lords,"  said  she,  "  I  forbid  you  to  trouble  them 
or  their  preachers."  Again  to  the  other  party, 
who  were  moved  by  her  kind  words,  she  added, 
"O  my  hearts,  should  ye  not  love  the  Lord  your 
God  with  all  your  heart  and  with  all  your  mind, 
and  should  ye  not  love  your  neighbors  as  your- 
selves ?" 

So  the  summons  was  set  aside,  and  no  ac- 
count taken  of  the  tragic  end  of  old  St.  Giles. 

But  his  anniversary,  September  ist,  was  at 
hand,  when  he  was  to  be  carried  in  proces- 
sion ;  and  what  was  to  be  done  without  him, 
the  principal  character  in  the  solemnity  ?  The 
town  council  was  required  by  the  clergy  to  re- 
place the  image  destroyed.  They  replied  that 
to  them  the  requisition  seemed  unjust.  "For 
they  understood  that  God,  in  some  places,  had 
commanded  idols  and  images  to  be  destroyed ; 


4l6  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

but  where  he  had  commanded  idols  and  im- 
ages to  be  set  up  they  had  not  read."  A  warm 
dispute  on  the  subject  issued  in  an  appeal  to 
the  pope,  which  was  never  carried  out.  A 
smaller  image  of  somebody  was  borrowed 
from  the  Gray  Friars  as  a  substitute  for  the 
occasion.  It  was  nailed  on  a  fertor,  or  bier, 
and  borne  in  the  usual  procession  through  the 
streets,  accompanied  by  a  long  array  of  eccle- 
siastics with  the  noisiest  kind  of  music.  The 
queen-regent  followed  it  part  of  the  way,  and, 
out  of  respect  to  her,  the  populace  suffered  the 
thing  to  go  on.  But  when  she  withdrew,  their 
contempt  took  its  own  way.  In  changing  the 
bearers  of  they^r/<?r  certain  persons  took  places 
among  them  who  carried  it  very  disrespectfully. 
Others,  perceiving  the  image  to  be  fastened  in 
its  place,  took  hold  of  it  and  pulled  it  off,  and 
broke  it  to  pieces  on  the  pavement,  many  voices 
exclaiming,  ''  Fy  upon  you,  young  St.  Giles ! 
your  father  would  have  stood  four  times  as 
much."  The  priests,  thinking  that  violence 
was  intended  them  also,  took  to  their  heels, 
each  according  to  his  ability,  and  the  solemn 
procession  ended  in  a  ridiculous  rout  amid  the 
laughter  of  the  multitude.  And  so  ended  the 
tragedy  of  St.  Giles. 

Such  transactions  could  not  be  confined  to 
the  godly.  Some  of  their  features  were  too 
attractive  to  the  mischief-loving  element  of  the 


MARY  OF  LORRAINE   AND    THE    PEOPLE.    417 

populace.  On  the  nth  of  May,  1558,  John 
Knox  preached  in  Perth,  and  dwelt  much  on 
the  unscriptural  nature  of  idolatry.  After  the 
sermon,  when  the  people  were  gone  away,  a 
priest  very  imprudently,  perhaps  in  bravado, 
uncovered  a  rich  altarpiece  in  which  were  fine- 
ly carved  images,  and  prepared  to  say  mass. 
A  few  people  were  still  lingering  about,  and 
among  them  a  boy,  who  called  out  with  a  loud 
voice,  "  This  is  intolerable,  that  when  God,  by 
his  word,  hath  plainly  damned  idolatry,  we  shall 
stand  and  see  it  used  in  despite."  The  priest 
struck  him.  Whereupon  the  boy  threw  a  stone, 
which,  missing  the  priest,  knocked  down  and 
broke  one  of  the  images.  Immediately  other 
persons  rushed  in  from  the  street  and  com- 
pleted the  damage.  In  a  few  minutes  all  the 
apparatus  of  idolatry  was  swept  away  from  the 
church. 

That  done,  the  multitude  proceeded  to  the 
monasteries  of  the  Black  and  Grey  Friars,  and 
to  that  of  the  Carthusians,  a  very  wealthy  in- 
stitution, and  demolished  them.  Their  gold 
and  silver  plate  and  other  portable  wealth  the 
monks  were  allowed  to  carry  with  them ;  their 
provisions  and  furniture  were  given  to  the 
poor,  but  the  buildings  were  razed  to  the 
ground. 

None  of  the  leading  Reformers  were  en- 
gaged   in    that   affair.      Purely  an   unpremedi- 

27 


41^  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

tated  outburst  of  the  lower  popular  feeling-,  it 
was  regretted  by  the  ministers,  but  encounter- 
ed little  or  no  censure  from  the  general  pub- 
lic. It  was  soon  imitated  elsewhere,  as  at 
Cupar  in  Fife,  St.  Andrews,  Stirling  and  Lin- 
lithgow ;  and  the  leaders  were  constrained  to 
content  themselves  with  regulating  and  limit- 
ing what  they  could  not  prevent.  As  a  gen- 
eral thing,  monasteries  were  destroyed,  while 
churches  were  spared,  but  stripped  of  all  ob- 
jects of  idolatrous  veneration.  The  ruined 
condition  of  many  large  and  once  beautiful 
churches  in  Scotland  is  due  chiefly  to  war  and 
natural  decay.  Melrose,  Dryburgh,  Kelso,  Jed- 
burgh and  others  suffered  from  the  violence  of 
English  armies  in  previous  invasions,  not  from 
the  Reformers/  Others,  in  the  course  of  ages, 
gradually  fell  into  ruin  from  neglect,  because 
they  were  no  longer  needed.  After  the  rev- 
enues which  once  belonged  to  them  were  sus- 
pended  or  turned  to  other  accounts,  there  were 
no  funds  to  keep  them  in  repair.  When  the 
hosts  of  unnecessary  ecclesiastics  were  dis- 
banded, and  where  the  parish  church  was  large 
enough  to  accommodate  the  parish  population, 
there  was  no  longer  any  use  for  such  gigantic 
and  expensive  piles.  Where  that  was  not  the 
case,  the  great  church  was  retained  and  adapted, 

^  See   Veitch,    Border  History,  p.   172,   etc.,   which  may  be   called 
"  Henry  VIII. 's  wooing  for  his  son." 


AfAA'V  OF  LORRAINE   AND    THE   PEOPLE.     419 

as  at  Stirling  and  at  Glasgow,  to  the  simpler 
Protestant  worship.  At  St.  Andrews  the  ca- 
thedral, which  really  was  not  needed  for  church 
accommodation,  and  served  only  the  purposes 
of  ecclesiastics  whom  the  people  wished  to  ex- 
pel, was  deliberately  torn  down.  It  was  thought 
best  to  *'  destroy  the  rookery,"  so  as  to  leave 
no  inducement  for  the  rooks  to  return.  There 
were  reasons  at  St.  Andrews  for  exceptional 
completeness. 


CHAPTER  V. 

JOHN  KNOX. 

SUCH  had  been  the  progress  of  opinion  in 
Scotland  by  the  year  1559  that  a  prudent 
leader  had  become  a  national  necessity.  Had 
the  Reformation  not  been  effected  by  sober- 
minded  men  in  a  regular  way,  a  revolution 
must  have  occurred  from  the  impulse  of  pop- 
ular Indignation,  no  longer  to  be  restrained.  In 
addition  to  the  corruption  of  the  Romish  Church 
in  Scotland,  and  the  incorrigible  immorality  of 
its  priesthood,  their  foreign  policy  had  now  clear- 
ly shown  itself  as  a  scheme  for  subjecting  the 
country  to  the  rule  of  France.  To  long  suffer- 
ing under  religious  oppression  and  falsehood, 
and  thirty  years  of  more  or  less  gospel  instruc- 
tion and  knowledge  of  the  Reformation  in  oth- 
er countries,  was  now  added  the  clear  demon- 
stration that  their  priests  were  traitors  to  the 
independence  of  their  country  for  the  price  of 
support  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  emoluments 
and  iniquity.  No  leader  could  have  carried 
that  people  with  him  who  did  not  partake  of 

420 


JOHN  KNOX.  421 

their  spirit ;  and  that  was  the  spirit  of  patriot- 
ism as  well  as  of  gospel  religion. 

John  Knox  arrived  in  Scotland  on  the  2d  of 
May,  1559,  at  the  very  juncture  in  which  he 
was  needed.  The  breaking  up,  next  day,  of 
the  council  in  Edinburgh,  whose  action  would 
in  any  case  have  proved  the  one  thing  more 
than  endurable,  the  newly-assumed  attitude  of 
the  regent  toward  the  nation,  her  reliance  upon 
French  arms  and  Scottish  ecclesiastics,  and  the 
outbreak  which  occurred  a  few  days  after  at  Perth, 
all  evinced  the  premonitory  feeling  of  a  nation- 
al crisis  and  the  inflammable  state  of  the  public 
mind.  Knox,  as  well  as  other  members  of  the 
Congregation,  was  grieved  by  the  public  vio- 
lence at  Perth.  Desirous  to  see  the  people  re- 
move their  own  idols  in  an  orderly  way,  he  re- 
garded it  as  a  serious  injury  to  the  cause  of 
truth  that  it  should  be  done  for  them  by  a  mob. 
But  all  that  remained  for  him  or  any  other  at 
that  juncture  was  to  regulate  the  commotion 
by  order  and  limitations. 

It  was  the  design  to  abolish  monasticism,  and 
the  destruction  of  the  monasteries  was  there- 
fore perfectly  rational.  Those  structures  an- 
swered no  purpose  but  to  accommodate  monks. 
It  was  because  they  were  built  that  monks  were 
brought  into  the  country.  In  the  days  of  St. 
Margaret  and  her  sons  monasteries  were  erect- 
ed, and  then  monks  were  brought  from  abroad, 


422  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

from  England  and  France,  to  live  in  them,  and 
estates  were  appropriated  to  their  support.  The 
whole  thing  was,  from  the  first,  foreign  to  Scot- 
land. Monks  never  had  anything  to  do  in 
that  country  but  to  live  in  the  houses  built  for 
them  and  draw  the  revenues  provided  for  them. 
When  the  people  of  Scotland  wished  to  have 
done  with  the  idle  crew,  who  had  also  become 
profligate  and  an  injury  to  public  morals,  the 
most  rational,  or  at  least  the  most  natural, 
course,  in  their  eyes,  was  to  tear  down  the 
houses  whose  existence  had  brought  them 
there,  and  to  turn  the  revenues  to  better  ac- 
count. A  perfectly  reasonable  distinction  was 
accordingly  made  between  the  monasteries  and 
the  churches,  excepting  that  in  some  places  ab- 
bey churches  had  been  constructed  where  they 
were  not  needed  for  any  other  purpose  than  that 
of  monastic  or  prelatic  effect.  Those  were,  in 
one  or  two  cases,  put  in  the  same  class  with 
the  monasteries,  but  upon  the  whole  they  were 
spared,  though  stripped  of  their  idolatrous  ob- 
jects of  worship. 

The  presence  of  John  Knox,  who  sympa- 
thized with  the  people  far  enough  to  have  a 
strong  control  over  them,  did  much  to  retain 
them  within  those  bounds.  He  reached  his  na- 
tive land,  on  this  occasion,  very  fully  furnished 
with  practical  knowledge  of  all  the  different  sys- 
tems of  government  existing  in   the  Western 


JOHN  KNOX.  423 

churches.  He  had  labored  about  five  years  in 
the  Ano-lican  Church  under  Edward  VI.  and 
Mary,  and  not  less  than  four  years  had  he  been 
a  resident  of  Geneva,  and  a  great  part  of  that 
time  a  pastor  there.  His  residence  in  Ger- 
many had  also  brought  him  into  some  rela- 
tions to  the  Lutherans.  He  had  labored  in 
co-operation  or  conflict  with  all  of  them. 
When,  together  with  these  facts,  we  take 
his  long  and  severe  study,  under  the  Romish 
system,  until  he  was  thirty- seven  years  old,  con- 
tinued on  a  broader  ground  five  years  longer 
before  he  began  to  preach,  and  his  habit  of  per- 
sistent study  in  all  circumstances,  we  shall  ad- 
mit that  none  of  the  great  Reformers  of  his 
time  came  to  the  work  with  a  more  complete 
equipment  for  it  than  John   Knox. 

It  had  now  been  resolved  by  the  Lords  of 
the  Conereo-ation  that  the  full  time  was  come 
to  make  an  effort  to  relieve  the  nation  from 
its  long-endured  grievances  by  abolishing  the 
Romish  religion  and  setting  up  the  Reform- 
ed in  all  places  where  the  people  were  pre- 
pared for  the  change.  It  was  apparent  that  if 
not  done  in  an  orderly  way  and  simultaneously, 
it  would  be  attempted  in  a  disorderly  and  scat- 
tered way.  The  regent  had  declared  her  pur- 
pose to  drive  the  Reformed  preachers  out  of  the 
land,  and  was  actually  then  employing  French 
forces,  and  forces  in  French  pay,  to  defeat  their 


424  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

cause,  and  had  ceased  to  observe  any  regard  to 
truth  in  her  deaHngs  with  them.  Nor  were  the 
Lords  ignorant  of  the  design  to  reduce  Scotland 
to  the  condition  of  a  dependency  of  France. 
Lord  James  Stewart  and  Erskine  of  Dun  had 
been  members  of  the  delegation  to  Paris  on  the 
occasion  of  the  queen's  marriage.  They  were 
fully  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  stronger 
force  would  soon  be  brouo^ht  against  them  from 
abroad,  and  that  no  time  was  likely  to  be  more 
favorable  for  their  purpose  than  the  present. 
It  was  also  resolved  that  the  seat  of  the  pri- 
macy was  the  right  place  to  begin. 

The  earl  of  Argyll  and  Lord  James  Stewart 
(who  was  the  prior  of  St.  Andrews),  after  their 
final  separation  from  the  regent  on  the  ist  of 
June,  1559,  repaired  at  once  to  St.  Andrews, 
giving  notice  by  writing  to  Erskine  of  Dun,  and 
other  Protestant  leaders  of  the  neighborhood, 
to  meet  them  at  that  city  on  the  4th.  They  ob- 
served the  appointment,  and  with  them  brought 
John  Knox,  who  went  on  farther  south  to  preach 
at  Crail  and  Anstruther,  and  returned  to  St. 
Andrews  on  the  9th. 

The  Lords  had  assembled  only  a  small  body 
of  followers,  and  still  knew  nothing  about  the 
disposition  of  the  citizens.  Archbishop  Ham- 
ilton, hearing  that  the  Reformer  was  expected 
to  preach  in  his  cathedral  city  next  day,  arrived 
in  great  haste  with  a  body  of  soldiers,  and  after 


JOHN  KNOX.  425 

consultation  held  with  some  of  his  clergy,  sent 
a  messenger  to  say  to  the  Lords  that  if  John 
Knox  should  present  himself  in  the  pulpit  of 
the  cathedral,  he  would  order  the  military  to 
fire  on  him. 

The  Lords  were  alarmed.  The  life  of  such 
a  man  must  not  be  rashly  exposed.  Among 
themselves  they  deemed  it  best  to  postpone 
the  preaching  until  their  own  force  should  be 
more  numerous  or  circumstances  more  favor- 
able. Knox,  when  the  proposal  was  made  to 
him,  thought  otherwise.  He  had  come  there  to 
preach  the  gospel;  he  had  no  intention  to  preach 
"in  contempt  of  any  man  nor  with  the  design  of 
hurdng  any  earthly  creature ;  but  to  delay  to 
preach  on  the  morrow  (unless  forcibly  hindered) 
he  could  not  in  conscience  agree."  "  My  life," 
said  he,  "  is  in  the  custody  of  Him  whose  glory 
I  seek,  and  therefore  I  cannot  so  fear  their  boast 
nor  tyranny  that  I  will  cease  from  doing  my  du- 
ty, when  God  of  his  mercy  offereth  the  occasion. 
I  desire  the  hand  nor  weapon  of  no  man  to  de- 
fend me.  I  only  crave  audience  ;  which  if  it  be 
denied  here  unto  me  at  this  time,  I  must  seek 
farther  where  I  may  have  it."  In  short,  his  res- 
olution was  that,  though  actual  force  might  pre- 
vent him,  threats  should  not. 

Accordingly,  next  day,  Sunday,  the  loth  of 
June,  1559,  John  Knox  preached  in  the  great 
church  of  St.  Andrews  before  a  large  assembly 


426  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

of  all  classes  of  people,  lay  and  ecclesiastical. 
The  military  did  not  fire,  nor  was  any  other  dis- 
turbance offered.  His  text  was  the  Lord's  ex- 
pulsion of  profane  traffic  from  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem.  Twelve  years  before,  in  that  same 
city,  he  had  publicly  proved  that  the  Jewish  re- 
ligion in  the  time  of  Christ  was  not  more  cor- 
rupt than  the  Romish  Church  was  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  He  now  took  up  the  theme  at 
that  point,  and  showed  that,  after  the  example 
of  the  Lord,  it  was  the  duty  of  those  to  whom 
God  had  given  the  power,  especially  the  magis- 
trates, to  cleanse  the  Church  by  removing  "  all 
monuments  of  idolatry." 

A  deep  impression  was  produced  upon  the 
the  audience,  which  continued  to  increase  under 
the  preaching  of  the  three  following  days  ;  and 
on  the  14th  of  June  the  magistrates,  with  entire 
consent  of  the  inhabitants,  peacefully  removed 
from  their  churches  all  objects  of  idolatrous 
veneration.  They  also  destroyed  the  monas- 
teries and  set  up  the   Reformed  religion. 

Intelligence  of  these  events,  sent  by  the  arch- 
bishop to  the  regent,  who  was  with  her  French 
troops  at  Falkland,  about  twelve  miles  off,  led 
to  the  meeting  at  Cupar  Moor  already  men- 
tioned. Under  the  truce,  there  formed,  the  re- 
gent retired  to  Stirling.  In  a  few  days,  the 
Lords  were  apprised  of  her  intention  to  fortify 
the  passage  of  the  Forth  at  Stirling,  and  cut 


JOHN  KNOX.  427 

them  off  from  connection  with  the  Reformers 
of  the  south.  To  prevent  that,  they  hastened 
to  Perth,  drove  out  the  garrison  which  she  had 
put  there  in  violation  of  her  solemn  promise, 
then  turned  on  that  rapid  march  whereby  they 
took  Stirling  and  every  other  place  on  their 
way,  until  they  entered  Edinburgh.  Knox  was 
with  them  all  the  way,  and  preached  in  the 
church  of  St.  Giles  on  the  day  of  their  arri- 
val. When  at  Perth  he  had  used  his  utmost 
effort  to  save  the  abbey  of  Scone,  where  the 
bishop  of  Murray  was  then  residing.  But  it 
was  burned  to  the  ground  by  the  multitude,  in 
spite  of  all.  The  reason  of  that  public  persist- 
ence, perhaps  not  known  to  every  one,  express- 
ed quietly  by  a  woman  in  the  hearing  of  some 
of  those  who  were  laboring  to  allay  it,  was  per- 
fectly sufficient. 

On  the  7th  of  July,  1559,  the  citizens  of  Ed- 
inburgh, in  a  public  meeting  in  the  Tolbooth, 
chose  John  Knox  as  their  minister.  That  ac- 
tion being  approved  by  his  brethren,  he  accept- 
ed the  charge,  and  continued  in  its  duties  until 
the  Lords  returned  to  Stirling  with  the  Re- 
formed forces.  .John  Willock  then  took  his 
place,  while  he  spent  the  next  two  months  on 
a  preaching-tour.  In  that  time  he  visited  the 
country  south  of  Edinburgh  as  far  as  Kelso 
and  Jedburgh,  proceeded  westward  to  Dum- 
fries,    then     into    Ayrshire,    and     through    the 


428  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

west  country  round  to  Stirling,  thence  north- 
ward as  far  as  Brechin  and  Montrose,  and 
back  to  Dundee  and  St.  Andrews.  That  jour- 
ney was  a  band  of  fraternal  sympathy  thrown 
around  the  Lowlands,  not  to  the  creation  of  ex- 
citement, but  of  a  sober  confidence,  promoting 
the  orderly  and  quiet  progress  of  the  revolu- 
tion in  hand.  That  progress,  although  in  most 
places  so  peaceful  as  to  attract  no  outward 
notice,  was  very  rapid.  In  little  more  than 
three  months  from  Knox's  first  sermon  at 
Perth,  already  eight  principal  towns  were  pro- 
vided with  Reformed  pastors,  while  others 
were  vacant  only  because  of  the  fewness  of 
preachers. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE   FRENCH  INVASION. 

THE  queen-regent  had  latterly  put  forth  all 
the  powers  conferred  upon  her  by  Parlia- 
ment to  subvert  the  national  independence. 
Foreign  arms,  under  her  command,  were  em- 
ployed to  enforce  upon  Scotland  a  foreign  pol- 
icy. From  early  in  her  term  of  office  her  influ- 
ence and  dignity  had  been  sustained  by  the 
presence  of  a  small  body  of  French  troops. 
As  the  scheme  of  making  Scotland  subserv- 
ient to  French  designs  upon  England  took 
shape,  the  number  was  increased  by  such 
small  additions  as  seem  to  have  attracted 
little  attention.  Some  Scots  were  also  en- 
listed on  French  pay.  About  the  time  when 
the  conflict  with  the  Reformers  began,  in 
May,  1559,  the  regular  foreign  force  must 
have  amounted  to  three  thousand  men.  They 
were  under  command  of  M.  d'Oysell,  a  parti- 
san of  the  duke  of  Guise.  At  first,  the  regent 
could  also,  upon  emergency,  call  together  four 
or  five  thousand  from  the  native  population. 
The  progress  of  events,  however,  soon  alien- 

429 


430  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

ated  that  element,  and  latterly  her  dependence 
rested  entirely  upon  the  French.  Increased  by 
successive  reinforcements,  they  took  possession 
of  Leith  and  fortified  it,  as  their  gate  to  and  from 
the  sea.  One  thousand  more  were  added  to 
their  number  at  that  time,  the  first  detach- 
ment of  an  army  which  was  expected  soon  to 
follow. 

Courage  and  capacity  for  military  training 
were  not  lacking  to  the  Scottish  people,  any 
more  than  in  earlier  days,  but  their  resources 
had  been  drained  by  long-continued  and  heavy 
exactions.  They  were  reduced  to  poverty.  A 
few  weeks  in  the  field  exhausted  their  means, 
and  they  could  not  endure  taxation  for  support 
of  a  standing  army.  A  small,  well-trained  reg- 
ular force,  in  possession  of  a  fortified  port  in 
communication  with  abundant  supplies  by  sea, 
had  great  advantage  over  them. 

On  returning  from  Dunbar,  the  queen-regent 
made  her  head-quarters  at  Leith.  Advancing 
thence  to  Edinburgh,  she  was  encountered  by 
the  Reformers.  A  truce  was  agreed  upon  be- 
tween them,  to  last  until  the  loth  of  January 
next.  Among  its  conditions  the  queen  was  to 
occupy  Edinburgh,  while  the  Protestants  in  the 
city  were  to  enjoy  the  freedom  of  their  wor- 
ship, as  then  observed.  The  Lords  accordingly 
left  Edinburgh  on  the  26th  of  July,  1559,  and 
retired  in  the  direction  of  Stirling.      John  Wil- 


THE   FRENCH  INVASION.  43 1 

lock  remained  as  minister  of  St.  Giles,  and  Knox 
went  on  his  tour  of  visitation. 

The  Lords  could  not  fail  to  consider  the  in- 
crease of  French  troops  and  the  continued 
work  on  the  fortifications  of  Leith  violations 
of  the  truce.  French  soldiers  were  also  em- 
ployed to  interrupt  or  to  disturb  the  Protestant 
worship  in  Edinburgh,  so  that  often  the  preach- 
er could  not  be  heard  by  the  congregation. 
Remonstrance  was  made  with  the  queen  in 
reference  to  these  things.  She  replied  by 
sending  two  messengers,  who  had  nothing  to 
propose  except  that  "  if  things  were  submit- 
ted to  the  queen's  will  she  would  be  gracious 
enough."  By  proclamation  she  also  attempted 
to  justify  the  increase  of  French  troops,  and 
by  private  means  to  create  division  among  the 
Lords.  Within  the  same  time  a  group  of  French 
ecclesiastics  arrived,  consisting  of  Pelleve,  bish- 
op of  Amiens,  with  three  doctors  of  the  Sor- 
bonne.  Le  Broche,  a  French  knight,  accom- 
panied them  with  two  thousand  infantry.  They 
professed  to  have  come  to  dispute  with  the  Prot- 
estant preachers.  But  as  they  never  really 
sought  an  occasion  of  debate,  it  is  more  prob- 
able that  their  mission  had  a  view  to  reviving 
and  strenethenine  the  Romish  interest  in  Scot- 
land  by  some  other  persuasions,  which  they  nev- 
er had  a  chance  to  exercise. 

In  reply  to  the  queen's  proclamation  the  Lords 


432  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

issued  a  statement,  in  which  they  again  protest- 
ed against  the  continued  increase  of  foreign 
troops,  and  the  occupation  of  the  best  harbor 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Edinburgh  for  the  pur- 
pose of  a  foreign  power,  which  could  serve  no 
other  end  to  Scotland  than  the  ruin  of  her  in- 
dependence. Having  issued  that  declaration, 
they  returned  to  Edinburgh,  and  took  posses- 
sion of  it  on  the  i8th  of  October.  They  had 
meanwhile  been  strengthened  by  the  accession 
of  the  earl  of  Arran,  who,  having  escaped  from 
the  court  of  France  with  more  knowledge  of 
its  designs  than  was  consistent  with  his  safety 
there,  found  his  way  home  through  England. 
As  soon  as  he  arrived  he  persuaded  his  father, 
the  duke  of  Chatelherault,  to  join  the  Reform- 
ers. 

On  the  same  day  on  which  the  Lords  re- 
entered Edinburgh  the  regent  took  refuge  in 
Leith,  followed  by  the  archbishops  of  St.  An- 
drews and  of  Glasgow  and  other  Romish  eccle- 
siastics. The  conflict  had  now  clearly  decided 
itself  to  be  between  the  Scottish  people  and  the 
Reformation  on  one  side,  and  the  ambition  of 
the  Guises,  sustained  by  French  arms  and  Rom- 
ish ecclesiastics,  with  the  regent  at  their  head, 
on  the  other. 

The  demand  of  the  people  was  freedom  in 
the  observance  of  their  religion  and  the  dismiss- 
al of  the  French.     On  the  other  side,  subordi- 


THE    FRENCH  INVASION.  433 

nation  to  the  policy  dictated  from  France,  and 
compliance  with  the  religion  of  Rome  were  the 
objects  in  view. 

On  the  day  after  they  re-entered  Edinburgh 
the  Lords  sent  a  message  informing  the  regent 
that  they  were  convened  to  redress  the  disor- 
ders in  the  nation,  and  especially  to  relieve  the 
port  of  Leith,  that  it  should  be  free  for  its  prop- 
er use  in  the  national  traffic,  and  desiring  her 
to  dismiss  all  foreigners  and  mercenary  soldiers 
then  obstructing  it,  and  to  demolish  the  forts 
erected  by  them  ;  otherwise  they  should  take 
it  to  be  her  intention  to  brine  the  king^dom 
into  servitude,  against  which  evil  they  must 
provide  in  the  best  way  they  could.  The  an- 
swer came  by  the  Lion  herald  king-at-arms, 
and,  as  was  to  be  expected,  conceded  nothing. 
It  closed  with  ordering  them  all  to  depart  from 
Edinburgh,  under  the  penalties  of  treason  if 
they  disobeyed. 

The  herald  was  detained  a  few  days  while 
the  Lords  took  counsel  with  a  number  of  the 
barons  and  burgesses  as  to  what  course  they 
should  next  pursue.  The  king  and  queen  were 
still  minors  in  a  foreign  land,  and  in  the  hands 
of  the  very  persons  creating  these  national  trou- 
bles. A  regular  Parliament  could  not  meet  in 
the  circumstances,  but  the  imminent  danger  of 
the  country  called  for  some  action  on  the  part 
of  its  natural  representatives.     To  human  eye 

28 


434  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

that  danger  never  was  greater,  not  even  under 
the  aggressions  of  Edward  I.  If  less  violent,  it 
seemed  to  be  more  complete  in  the  strong  links 
of  its  chain  of  causes. 

A  numerous  assembly  of  nobles,  barons  and 
representatives  of  boroughs  met  in  Edinburgh 
to  consider  the  state  of  the  country,  and  the 
proposition  laid  before  them  was  the  expedi- 
ency of  deposing  the  regent.  Already  had  the 
regency  been  transferred  by  the  authorities  of 
the  nation  ;  might  it  not  be  transferred  again  ? 
Could  any  case  more  urgently  demand  it? 
There  was  a  difference  of  opinion.  After  dis- 
cussion had  proceeded  to  some  length,  the  two 
ministers,  Willock  and  Knox,  were  called  on 
for  their  advice.  When  they  closed,  the  assem- 
bly resolved  unanimously,  in  the  name  of  the 
absent  king  and  queen,  to  suspend  the  commis- 
sion granted  to  the  queen- regent  until  the  next 
Parliament  that  should  be  called  by  the  royal 
advice  and  consent.  Proclamation  to  that  effect 
was  made  by  sound  of  trumpet,  and  information 
sent  to  the  queen-dowager  by  her  returning  her- 
ald on  the  23d  of  October. 

Next  day  the  Lords  summoned  Leith  to  sur- 
render. But  their  operations  before  it  were 
unsuccessful.  On  the  5th  of  November  they 
were  repulsed,  and  their  troops  so  disheart- 
ened that  on  the  following  night  they  left  Ed- 
inburgh and  retreated  to  Stirling,  which  they 


THE   FRENCH  INVASION.  435 

reached  on  the  evening  of  the  next  day.  But 
they  carried  with  them  two  men  who  proved  the 
safety  of  their  enterprise.  Wilham  Maidand 
of  Lethington,  offended  and  endangered  by  the 
poHcy  which  ruled  in  the  regent's  court,  escaped 
from  Leith  and  joined  the  Lords  in  the  midst  of 
their  disasters.  And  on  the  morning  after  their 
arrival  at  Stirling,  Wednesday,  the  7th  of  No- 
vember, John  Knox  preached  before  the  de- 
feated and  despondent  forces.  His  text  was 
from  the  eightieth  Psalm,  the  fourth  to  the 
eighth  verses  inclusive,  and  the  sermon  had 
a  wonderful  effect  to  lift  up  the  hearts  of  his 
hearers,  to  confirm  their  faith  and  encourage 
them  to  further  effort  and  hope  of  success.  In 
the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  Lords  held  a 
meeting,  at  which  they  invited  Knox  to  be  pres- 
ent, and  agreed  to  send  Maitland  to  London  to 
lay  their  case  before  Elizabeth,  believing  that  so 
eminent  a  ruler  could  not  fail  to  perceive  the 
danger  to  herself  in  a  French  occupation  of 
Scotland.  As  the  strength  of  aggression  was 
the  Romish  religion,  the  most  obvious  method 
of  resistance  was  to  combine  the  Reformers. 
Such  an  alliance  had  occurred  long  before  to 
both  Scots  and  Enorlish,  and  mieht  have  been 
effected  sooner  but  for  the  obstinate  animosity 
of  Elizabeth  toward  Knox,  who  with  Balnavis 
had  hitherto  managed  negotiations  on  the  side 
of  Scotland.     Until  the  results  of  the  new  em- 


43^  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

bassy  should  appear,  and  during  the  depth  of 
winter,  the  Congregation  dispersed,  while  one- 
half  of  the  council  were  to  reside  in  Glasgow 
and  the  other  in  St.  Andrews.  With  the  former 
Balnavis,  and  with  the  latter  Knox,  were  to  re- 
main and  act  as  secretaries,  to  maintain  con- 
stant communication  between  them.  With 
Knox  it  proved  a  period  of  great  intellect- 
ual labor,  in  constant  preaching,  correspond- 
ence and  otherwise. 

As  soon  as  the  retreat  of  the  Lords  was 
known  at  Leith,  the  French  took  possession 
of  Edinburgh,  except  the  castle,  which  was 
still  held  by  Lord  Erskine.  More  troops  were 
sent  for,  to  make  their  victory  complete.  A 
French  expedition  sailed  from  Dieppe,  but  was 
encountered  by  a  storm  at  sea.  Part  of  it  was 
driven  back  to  France,  and  the  rest  cast  away 
on  the  shores  of  Holland.  Subsequently,  the 
marquis  D'Elbeuf  succeeded  in  reaching  Leith 
with  a  thousand  infantry  and  some  cavalry. 

Toward  the  end  of  December  news  came 
from  England  favorable  to  the  Reformed 
cause.  It  was  soon  known  also  to  the 
French,  who  forthwith  hastened  to  make  an 
end  of  the  war  before  the  Engflish  could  in- 
terfere.  Marching  upon  Linlithgow  and  Stir- 
ling, and  then  to  Fife,  where  the  Protestants 
were  strong,  they  must  have  been  disappointed 
to  find  no  army  there.     All  they  could  do  was 


THE  FRENCH  INVASION.  43/ 

to  burn  and  destroy.  Only  on  the  coast  of 
Fife  were  they  harassed  in  their  camp  and  on 
the  march  by  the  companies  organized  under 
Lord  James  Stewart  and  some  of  the  local  gen- 
tlemen. On  the  23d  of  January,  1560,  when 
on  their  march  to  St.  Andrews,  from  the  high 
ground  looking  south-eastward  they  espied  a 
fleet  sailing  into  sight  up  the  Forth.  They  re- 
joiced, for  the  first  thought  was  that  it  must  be 
the  expected  reinforcement  from  France.  But 
in  a  short  time,  from  a  boat  which  landed  near 
them,  they  learned  that  it  was  an  English  squad- 
ron in  aid  of  the  Reformers.  It  now  became 
necessary  for  them  to  hasten  back  to  Leith  with 
all  expedition.  A  detachment  which  went  out 
to  Glasgow  was  also  recalled.  The  English 
ships  took  up  their  position  before  Leith,  block- 
aded the  harbor  and  cut  off  all  communication 
by  sea. 

A  treaty  between  the  queen  of  England  and 
the  duke  of  Chatelherault,  as  head  of  those  rep- 
resenting the  native  government  of  Scotland, 
was  signed  at  Berwick,  February  27,  1560. 
The  English  army,  consisting  of  six  thousand 
infantry  and  two  thousand  cavalry,  under  Lord 
Grey  of  Wilton,  set  forth  immediately  and  join- 
ed the  reassembled  forces  of  the  Lords  at  Pres- 
ton, about  eight  miles  from  Edinburgh,  on  the 
4th  of  April.  The  French  shut  themselves  up 
within  their  fortifications,  which  were  now  in- 


438  THE   CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

vested  by  land  and  sea.  At  the  same  time  the 
regent,  in  impaired  health,  was  received  into  the 
castle  of  Edinburgh  by  Lord  Erskine,  who,  al- 
though a  Protestant,  still  maintained  his  singu- 
lar neutrality.  The  siege  of  Leith  continued 
from  April  5  three  months.  On  the  loth  of 
June  the  queen-regent  died. 

Meanwhile,  the  princes  of  Lorraine  were 
losing  their  absolute  control  of  public  affairs 
in  France.  Among  the  nobility  a  party  was 
formed  against  them,  to  defeat  their  dangerous 
ambition  and  protect  French  Protestants.  Un- 
der that  pressure,  the  cabinet  sent  delegates  to 
Edinburgh  to  make  peace  with  England.  The 
treaty  agreed  upon  by  the  representatives  of 
the  three  nations  was  signed  on  the  7th  of  July, 
and  on  the  i6th  the  French  embarked  at  Leith, 
and  the  English  commenced  their  march  to  the 
south,  and  on  the  19th  the  Lords  of  the  Con- 
gregation, with  their  followers,  assembled  in  the 
church  of  St.  Giles  to  render  thanks  to  God  for 
the  restoration  of  peace. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    VICTORY. 

SCOTLAND  was  now  relieved  from  foreign 
interference.  The  question  of  religion  re- 
mained to  be  settled,  but  the  order  of  events 
had  prejudged  it.  The  Protestants  had  trans- 
acted the  business  for  the  national  protection. 
Their  cause  had  identified  itself  with  the  na- 
tional independence.  For  their  cause  had  the 
victory  been  won,  and,  now  that  the  foreigners 
were  gone,  in  their  hands  had  the  national  au- 
thority been  left.  The  Roman  Catholics  had 
reposed  their  hope  upon  the  French,  and  were 
now  helpless  and  without  position.  The  Prot- 
estants were  also  the  most  powerful  in  rank 
and  number.  Most  of  the  nobility,  barons  and 
gentlemen  and  the  great  mass  of  the  commons 
were  on  their  side.  In  numbers  the  Catholics 
were  not  so  feeble  as  they  seemed,  but  the  un- 
national  policy  of  their  leaders,  long  persisted 
in,  and  finally  so  completely  exposed  and  defeat- 
ed, had  for  the  time  utterly  prostrated  their  in- 
fluence. Upon  the  whole,  except  where  it  had 
been  enforced   by  the  regent,  the  services  of 

4.Hy 


440  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

their  rellofion  were  almost  deserted.  Priests  of 
their  own  accord  ceased  to  celebrate  the  rites 
which  few  or  none  attended.  The  people,  now 
free  to  follow  their  choice,  peacefully  set  up  the 
Reformed  worship,  wherever  there  were  minis- 
ters to  conduct  it. 

In  the  treaty  of  Edinburgh  it  was  stipulated 
that  a  Scottish  Parliament  should  be  held  in  the 

month  of  AuQ-ust  followinof.       Notice  was  ac- 
es o 

cordingly  given  to  all  persons  entitled  to  a  seat 
in  the  national  council.  Many  of  the  members 
came  together  before  the  appointed  day.  Dur- 
ing the  interval  a  meeting  of  the  commissioners 
of  boroughs,  with  some  of  the  nobility  and  bar- 
ons, undertook  to  assign  the  Reformed  ministers 
to  places  of  regular  preaching  and  pastoral  la- 
bor, Knox  being  appointed  to  Edinburgh,  Good- 
man to  St.  Andrews,  Heriot  to  Aberdeen,  Row 
to  Perth,  Methven  to  Jedburgh,  Christison  to 
Dundee,  Ferguson  to  Dunfermline,  and  Lind- 
say to  Leith.  As  for  many  places  no  ministers 
could  be  provided,  certain  persons  were  select- 
ed to  read  the  Scriptures  before  assemblies  of 
the  people,  and  such  as  were  deemed  compe- 
tent were  encouraged  to  offer  practical  remarks 
on  what  they  read.  Over  such  districts,  where 
no  better  provision  could  then  be  made,  some 
well-known  and  fully  competent  men  were  set 
as  superintendents  to  preside,  and  travel  from 
parish  to  parish  and  see  to  their  order  and  spir- 


THE   VICTORY.  44 ^ 

itual  interests.  Not  over  all  the  kingdom  were 
superintendents  set,  but  only  where  they  were 
needed — only  over  the  five  districts  of  Lothian, 
Fife,  Glasgow,  Angus  and  Mearns,  and  Argyll 
and  the  islands.  The  device  was  only  tem- 
porary, and  continued  no  longer  than  until  the 
number  of  ministers  increased  sufficiently  to 
complete  the  permanent  design. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  1560,  an  unusually 
large  attendance  on  Parliament  assembled  in 
Edinburgh.  What  had  formerly  been  shunned 
by  many  as  a  burdensome  and  expensive  task 
was  on  this  occasion  eagerly  claimed  as  a  privi- 
lege. Most  of  the  higher  clergy,  the  nobility, 
the  barons  and  representatives  of  boroughs 
were  present.  Knox  was  not  a  member,  but 
was  at  hand,  with  some  other  Reformed  minis- 
ters, to  aid  in  such  manner  as  Parliament  might 
require.  During  the  time  of  the  meeting  he 
continued  to  preach  on  the  prophecies  of  Hag- 
gai,  with  application  to  the  times. 

First  among  the  articles  of  business  brought 
before  Parliament  was  the  petition  of  the  bar- 
ons, gentlemen,  burgesses  and  other  subjects 
of  the  realm  concerninof  religion — first,  that 
"the  doctrine  of  the  Roman  Church,  profess- 
ed and  tyrannously  maintained  by  the  clergy, 
should  be  condemned,  and  by  act  of  Parlia- 
ment abolished."  Some  of  its  doctrines  and 
practices  they  represented  as  "  pestilent  errors. 


442  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

which  could  not  but  bring  damnation  upon  souls 
therewith  affected."  They  desired,  therefore,  a 
punishment  to  be  appointed  for  the  teachers 
of  such  doctrines.  Secondly,  that  "  a  remedy 
should  be  found  against  the  profaning  of  the 
holy  sacraments  by  men  of  that  profession,  and 
the  true  discipline  of  the  ancient  Church  revived 
and  restored ;"  and  thirdly,  that  ''  the  usurped 
authority  of  the  pope  of  Rome  be  discharged, 
and  the  patrimony  of  the  Church  employed  to 
the  sustentation  of  the  ministry,  the  provision 
of  schools  and  entertainment  of  the  poor,  of  a 
long  time  neglected." 

Before  taking  up  the  discussion  of  these  top- 
ics Parliament  requested  the  ministers  to  pre- 
pare a  statement  of  the  doctrines  which  they 
proposed  to  substitute.  That  was  promptly 
done,  and  the  first  Confession  of  the  Scottish 
Reformed  Church  was  laid  before  Parliament. 
It  consisted  of  twenty-five  sections,  covering  the 
main  heads  of  theology,  church  government,  re- 
lations of  the  Church  to  the  State,  and  the  duty 
of  the  latter  to  maintain  the  former  and  to  be 
conformable  to  its  doctrine.  It  was  read  before 
the  Lords  of  the  Articles,  and  with  their  approv- 
al read  before  Parliament.  It  was  then  laid  over 
several  days,  that  the  members  might  have  time 
to  give  it  deliberate  consideration.  On  the  1 7th 
of  August  it  was  again  taken  up,  and  read  for 
discussion  and  vote,  article  by  article.       Only 


THE   VICTORY.  443 

three  persons  of  the  temporal  estate  voted  in 
the  negative — the  earl  of  Athole  and  the  Lords 
Somerville  and  Borthwick,  whose  only  reason 
given  for  so  doing  was,  "We  will  believe  as 
our  fathers  believed." 

Some  of  the  ecclesiastics  voted  with  the  Re- 
formers. When  the  revolution  had  secured  vic- 
tory on  its  side,  men  like  Winram  of  St.  An- 
drews were  emboldened  to  speak  their  minds 
openly.  The  bishops  of  Galloway  and  Argyll 
had  already  joined  the  evangelical  connection. 
The  primate  and  most  of  the  bishops  opposed 
the  Confession,  but  made  no  defence  of  their 
ground.  They  knew  that  if  they  ventured  on 
debate  they  would  be  overwhelmed  with  argu- 
ment from  the  other  side,  and  that,  however  the 
merits  of  their  cause  might  be  presented,  they 
were  sure  to  be  outvoted.  Already  they  had 
ceased  to  hope  for  victory  by  that  means. 
Moreover,  they  still  cherished  the  probability 
that  France  would  recover  her  hold  of  the 
country.  Francis  and  Mary  had  not  yet  rati- 
fied the  treaty,  nor  was  it  likely  they  ever 
would,  especially  as  it  contained  an  article 
whereby  they  were  to  be  bound  not  to  as- 
sume the  title  or  emblazonry  of  England. 
That  the  claim  of  Mary  Stuart  upon  such  a 
throne  would  be  so  tamely  surrendered  was 
exceedingly  improbable.  But  the  grand  design 
upon  England  required  the  possession  of  Scot- 


444  THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 

land  as  an  important  preliminary.  France  would 
certainly  send  another  army,  and  a  stronger,  and 
England  might  not  be  ready  to  come  north  again 
with  an  adequate  force.  The  present  triumph 
of  the  Reformers  could  only  be  temporary.  In 
a  short  time  it  must  certainly  fall  before  the 
vengeance  of  outraged  royalty  and  the  supe- 
rior prowess  of  France.  It  was  perfectly  ra- 
tional so  to  think  at  that  time,  but  History,  in 
her  subsequent  complications,  reasoned  in  an- 
other way. 

Parliament  recognized  the  Confession  as  truly 
stating  scriptural  doctrine,  and  so  accepted  it  as 
the  faith  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Acts  were 
also  passed  abolishing  the  dominion  of  the  pope 
within  the  kingdom,  annulling  all  statutes  of  ear- 
lier time  "  for  maintenance  of  idolatry,"  prohib- 
iting the  saying  of  mass,  and  enacting  punish- 
ment for  those  who  should  persist  in  it. 

These  acts  of  Parliament  were  sent  to  France 
for  ratification  by  the  king  and  queen.  But  the 
commmissioner.  Sir  James  Sandilands,  Lord  St. 
John,  was  coldly  received,  treated  with  indignity, 
and  ratification  was  not  granted.  The  acts,  how- 
ever, went  into  force  as  laws  by  popular  choice, 
for  they  expressed  a  previously  determinate  pur- 
pose of  the  people,  which  had  become  actual  be- 
fore they  were  passed. 

After  the  dissolution  of  Parliament  a  commit- 
tee of  ministers  was  formed  to  prepare  a  Book 


THE   VICTORY.  445 

of  Discipline.  The  work  was  soon  completed 
and  presented  to  the  nobility.  But  it  was  found 
too  severe  for  most  of  them,  and  never  received 
more  than  a  partial  approval. 

Meanwhile,  the  Catholic  leaders  in  Scotland 
were  plotting  another  invasion  from  France. 
The  archbishop  of  Glasgow,  the  abbot  of 
Dunfermline  and  Lord  Seaton  were  already  in 
Paris  for  that  purpose.  The  plan  to  overthrow 
the  Guise  domination  in  France  had  been  dis- 
covered, and  the  conspirators  were  suffering  in 
multitudes  beneath  the  merciless  vengeance  of 
their  enemies.  When  that  impediment  should 
be  out  of  the  way  it  was  counted  on  that  the 
energies  of  France  could  be  concentrated  upon 
the  great  enterprise  in  Britain.  But  just  at  this 
crisis,  and  while  many  of  the  victims  were  still 
awaiting  execution.  King  Francis  died. 

The  link  was  broken  which  connected  the  ad- 
ministration of  government  with  the  family  of 
Guise.  Another  son  of  Catherine  de  Medici 
ascended  the  throne,  to  whom  that  family  had 
no  relations.  Catherine,  who  never  loved  the 
princes  of  Lorraine,  or  their  niece,  was  relieved 
from  the  necessity  of  being  secondary  to  their 
ambition.  Her  power  was  still  a  compromise 
with  theirs,  but  their  niece's  claim  to  the  thrones 
of  Scotland  and  England  was  now  nothing  to 
her  and  her  sons,  save  a  probability  to  be  dep- 
recated.    Nor  had  the  princes  of  Lorraine  any 


K6 


THE    CHURCH  IN  SCOTLAND. 


onger  a  family  interest  In  aggrandizing  the 
hrone  of  France  as  held  by  the  house  of  Va- 
ols.  The  designs  upon  Scotland  from  that  quar- 
er  came  to  end.  Their  motive  was  extinct. 
5uch  stupendous  interests,  so  deeply  affecting 
hree  kingdoms,  rested  on  the  life  or  death  of 
I  feeble  boy.  Francis  II.  died  on  the  15th  of 
December,  1560,  and  the  burden  of  anxiety  was 
Ifted  from  the  heart  of  Scotland. 

About  the  same  time  a  number  of  the  Re- 
ormed  ministers  and  leading  laymen  agreed  to 
neet  together,  and  "  consult  upon  those  things 
v^hich  were  to  forward  God's  glory  and  the  well 
)f  his  Kirk  in  this  realm."  They  met  on  the 
!Oth  of  December,  1560.  Simple  and  rudl- 
nentary  in  Its  structure  as  It  was,  that  meeting 
epresented  the  existence  and  purpose  of  an 
ilready  practically  established  Church,  which 
ecognized  It,  and  has  ever  since,  when  un- 
lindered  by  violence,  maintained  its  succes- 
lon,  as  the  first  Assembly  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  Scotland. 

Whatever  importance  may  attach  to  it  in  the 
)rder  of  cause  and  effect,  it  is  at  least  worthy 
)f  remark  that  the  strength  of  the  Scottish  Re- 
orm  movement  appeared  in  those  parts  of  the 
:ountry  which  in  earlier  ages  had  been  the  spe- 
:Ial  scenes  of  the  evangelical  work  of  Ninlan, 
)f  Kentigern,  of  Columba,  and  of  their  respec- 
ive  followers,  and  where  Palladius  found  be- 


'!' 


0"^ 

r  . 
a?: 
itc: 

lO  . 
Cdi. 


ThE   VICTORY.  447 

lievers  in  Christ.  Though  much  of  the  inter- 
vening time  is  dark — worse  than  dark,  covered 
with  deceitful  clouds  of  fable — with  such  a  his- 
tory before  its  beginning,  and  unveiling  itself 
at  the  end,  one  cannot  resist  the  obtruding  con- 
jecture that  fond  hankerings  after  the  earlier 
faith  had  survived  through  all  the  obscurity,  as 
one  slumbers  in  the  night,  and  awakened  again 
to  activity  in  the  warmth  and  light  of  the  liber- 
ated gospel.  Nations  have  memories — hered- 
itary memories — amazingly  long,  holding  on, 
dreamily  it  may  be,  for  centuries,  but  sure 
to  come  to  consciousness  when  a  proper  oc- 
casion  arrives. 


THE    END. 


Date  Due 

Ku^.^^ 

'^«t««,M«(8ii»itt»'' 

i:hm:^^ 

.^MiiiHii^P** 

■*ll»_^ 

^""•W-' 

1 

f) 

BW5360.M69 

The  church  in  Scotland  :  a  history  of 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00035  9614 


